Chapter 6

The next morning, Noel got up early. After his usual morning routine of shadowboxing, he wandered around Quinton Manor.

"What's this?"

His eyes landed on a marble sculpture standing right in the center of the main hall. Curious, he walked over to get a closer look.

The statue was about as tall as a person. It looked like a lion carved entirely from marble. But what caught Noel's attention were its big, bronze eyes that seemed to glow with a fierce light. It gave off a creepy vibe.

"Who would put a Surnyx here to guard the house?"

Most people wouldn't know what it was, but Noel came from the Arcane Guild, and he recognized the statue immediately.

According to legend, the dragon had nine sons—one of whom was the Surnyx, a fierce lion-like beast.

This creature was meant to guard tombs, not homes.

Following the statue's gaze, Noel noticed it was staring directly at the second-floor bedroom where Dylan stayed.

"No wonder. The Surnyx's eyes gather negative energy. Using it as a guardian statue to protect the house is a serious misstep in mysticism. Over time, anyone living here would get sick or worse."

A chill ran down Noel's spine.

That explained why Dylan had been healthy all these years, but suddenly fell ill in the past couple of years.

This wasn't a coincidence. Someone was trying to harm him!

"Kid, that's a million-dollar statue carved from marble," William said as he stepped up behind Noel. "You're from the countryside, so it's no surprise you don't know."

Noel smiled and said, "Good morning, William."

"Don't call me so casually!" William's face darkened. He'd never accept Noel as part of the family.

Noel looked a little uneasy. "Isn't it a bit soon to be calling you Dad?"

"You little punk, what nonsense are you talking about?"

William fumed, his eyebrows shooting up in disbelief at Noel's audacity.

"Let me make this clear. Even though you saved my father's life, I never agreed to you marrying Yvette! And if it weren't for him forcing her hand, she wouldn't have married you. So clearly, my daughter doesn't truly love you."

William thought he'd left no room for misunderstanding. But when he glanced back at Noel, the guy didn't seem to be listening at all. Instead, he was still staring at that marble statue like it was some kind of puzzle.

"Kid, do you even understand what I'm saying?" William asked, scowling.

"I get it. Of course, I do. But what I'm really curious about is who put that Surnyx statue here in the first place?"

Noel grinned and turned the question back on William.

"Surnyx? What's that?"

Noel's question caught William off guard. He hesitated for a moment. From his expression, Noel guessed his new father-in-law probably didn't know either.

"What are you two doing here?"

Just then, Yvette came out of the room. She looked surprised to see her father and Noel standing together.

"Nothing, just chatting," William said, forcing a laugh. He shot Noel a warning glance before folding his arms behind his back and walking away.

Yvette watched her father leave, then looked at Noel with suspicion.

"Did my dad say anything to you?"

Noel shook his head.

"Nothing. He was just eager for me to start calling him Dad."

"What?" Yvette shot him a sharp look, not buying his nonsense for a second.

"By the way, who brought in that statue?"

Noel pointed at the marble statue.

"You mean the marble lion?" Yvette looked confused. "I think it was my uncle. He bought it last year when they were renovating the house. Said it was to protect the place."

"Your uncle got it?"

Noel's expression darkened the moment he heard that.

It was clear that nobody in the Quinton family, not even Yvette, really understood what the statue was for.

"Is there a problem with it?" Yvette asked, curious about Noel's serious expression.

"No, it's just… this thing's ugly. Kind of an eyesore," Noel said casually.

He had no proof yet and wasn't ready to make a big deal out of it.

"Come on, Grandpa's waiting for us to eat breakfast."

Yvette gave Noel a weird look but just figured he didn't know much about these things.

"Alright then," Noel smiled and followed her out.

Before they left, he reached out and gave the Surnyx statue a light tap. Surprisingly, the several-hundred-pound sculpture smoothly rotated on its own.

-

In the dining room, the whole family was gathered as Yvette and Noel arrived.

"There's nothing like good news to lift the spirits. Ever since Noel and Yvette got married, I've felt so much better," Dylan said with a bright smile and a healthy flush on his cheeks.

Even after just one night, it was clear he was in better shape than the day before.

Noel glanced at the old man but kept quiet about the statue.

"That's just because you've got ridiculous luck, Grandpa. What's it got to do with them?" Lulu said, pouting.

Ever since she rejected the marriage proposal, she'd felt Dylan growing distant. She was trying to say whatever would cheer him up.

But Dylan didn't seem to notice. Instead, he turned his full attention to Yvette with concern.

"How was your evening with Noel last night? And don't forget, you'd better hurry up and give me a grandchild!"

Under her grandfather's gaze, Yvette's cheeks flushed red. She had no idea how to respond. It was clear that Dylan's biggest wish right now was to hold a grandchild in his arms.

Seeing Yvette's awkward glance, Noel stepped in with a smile.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. We'll get it done."

Hearing Noel's promise, the old man beamed with delight once more.

"Noel, since you've only recently come back to the city, you probably don't have a job yet, right? How about I arrange for you to work at Quinton Pharmaceuticals? You can start out as a department manager, and I'll give you a million-dollar annual salary. How does that sound?"

Dylan said it casually, as if it were no big deal.

But the moment the words left his mouth, several people at the table visibly stiffened in shock.

Department manager?

A million a year?

At Quinton Pharmaceuticals, that was a high-level executive position. It was one others would kill for. There was no way they could hand it to Noel so easily.

"Dad, that's not going to work," Jacob said quickly. "Our company doesn't need new people right now. Also, department managers have high standards. Noel's a rookie, so he probably can't handle it."

Dylan frowned. "Why wouldn't he be able to?"

Lulu glanced at Noel and asked, "What's your educational background? Our department managers usually have PhDs at the very least, you know?"

"Education?" Noel shrugged and answered honestly, "I grew up on Fangspire Mountain. I trained under renowned masters, but I never went to school."

He had studied under his mentor on Fangspire Mountain all his life, but that didn't mean he lacked knowledge. After all, even a renowned scholar of classical philosophy, Sebastian Corwin, once spent six months living on the mountain at his mentor's invitation. During that time, Sebastian had taken Noel under his wing.

And it wasn't just him. A professor from the Royal Academy in Angloria also came all the way to personally teach Noel.

However, the Quinton family members weren't convinced.

No formal schooling?

To them, that was just a fancy way of saying he was completely uneducated.

Lulu sneered and said, "Grandpa, if Quinton Pharmaceuticals hires an illiterate, won't everyone just laugh at us? Honestly, why not just send him to work at Yvette's branch? That company's practically bankrupt anyway. What's one more useless body?"

Her words weren't just aimed at Noel.

They were a jab at Yvette too.

Hearing this, Yvette stood up, clearly angry. "Lulu, you don't need to worry about the branch company. We're having some trouble, sure, but bankrupt? Not even close."

"Really? I'd love to see what you can actually do," Lulu said with a cold laugh.

Before Yvette could answer, her phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?"

An urgent voice came through the phone.

"Ms. Quinton, there's trouble. Skyline Corp backed out of the contract and even assaulted one of our sales reps!"

"What? Skyline Corp is trying to skip out on payment?"

Yvette's face went pale, and her voice rose several octaves without her realizing.

"Having trouble?" Noel asked as she panicked.

Yvette nodded. "Skyline Corp owes us ten million. They promised to pay today, so why the sudden problem? How could this happen?"

Hearing this, William and his wife looked worried.

Ten million was no small amount.

If they didn't recover that money, bankruptcy might be unavoidable for Yvette's branch given its current state.

"What did I just say? Lulu laughed smugly. "Why don't you beg me, Yvette? I can have a word with Mr. Warren. He's pretty close to Mr. Gold from Skyline Corp!"

"It was you?"

The moment those words left Lulu's mouth, a flash of anger sparked in Yvette's eyes. She understood perfectly well. Skyline Corp's sudden breach of contract had to be Lulu's doing behind the scenes!

Lulu was deliberately trying to cut off the branch's funding, making sure Yvette couldn't help Noel and that they'd lose the bet.

"Even if I go bankrupt, I'm never begging you," Yvette said through gritted teeth.

Just then, Noel turned to Dylan.

"Grandpa, I've made up my mind. I'm going to work at Yvette's branch. And while I'm at it, I'll make sure we get that money back."

His words shocked everyone in the room.

Turning down a million-dollar department manager job to help save a branch company on the brink of collapse?

Even Yvette looked at him in confusion.

"Don't worry," Noel said with a grin aimed at Yvette. "No matter who tries to take my wife's money, I'll make sure they pay it back—double."

"Don't you worry about hurting your back from all that bragging? Do you even know what kind of people run Skyline Corp? You really think you can just get that money back?"

Lulu sneered openly at Noel's confidence.

Skyline Corp appeared to be just a property management company on the surface. But behind the scenes, it was controlled by an underground gang known as the Skyline Syndicate.

It wasn't just Yvette's branch. No one in the Quinton family dared to cross a local gang leader like this.

"All right, since Noel's made up his mind, he might as well start working at the branch! That way, you two can spend some time building your relationship," Dylan said with a smile, sealing the decision.

No one else knew, but Dylan was well aware that Noel had trained under the Divine Sage.

Maybe Noel really did have some extraordinary skills after all.