Cordia daddy’s face shriveled up so much it looked like a prune. Then he forced a smile on, that looked so ugly it would have been better to just cry instead, “That’s… that’s great… that you two…” Cordia daddy swallowed hard, “…get along so well …but since that’s the case… I think it would be better if the two of you slept separately until the wedding.”
Noah’s eyebrows shot up. His dad seemed to have misunderstood the relationship between Levi and him?
Ai, but that wasn’t the main issue here! (っ °Д °;)っ
“Dad, without my soothing–“ Noah hurried to explain, but his objection was interrupted by Cordia daddy’s firm declaration, “You are not the only Soother in Concordia. If he needs soothing, then I’ll just hire another Soother for him.”
Noah’s protest abruptly died in his throat, and he suddenly felt enlightened. Oh! So there was this solution too! Why didn’t he think of it before?!
Blackie, ‘Gee, I, too, wonder why… (¬‿¬) Ai, it’s almost like your thinking was compromised due to something incredibly implausible like falling in love…’
Seeing his days of eating big mouthfuls of tofu about to fly away into the distance, it now became Levi’s turn to feel like he had swallowed a fly. His face that had been wearing a scowl all along turned especially dark.
“Their soothing won’t be as effective…” The valiant warrior, Astar Levi, put up one final, dying struggle.
With the backing of his own son, Cordia daddy felt as if he suddenly grew wings. His hunched back straightened valiantly, and he plunged into the fray without any fear, “True, but do you really need an SS-ranked soothing just to sleep peacefully?”
Cordia daddy had only just managed to finish voicing out this rhetorical question when his shameless son-in-law deadpanned with 100% assurance, “Need.” (≖ ‸ ≖)
‘You think you are the only one that can act shamelessly?!’ Cordia daddy internally ground his teeth but outwardly retained his genial smile, pretending not to have heard him, “We will only know if we try it out first. And even if their soothing is no good, so what? Are you saying we can’t afford to rebuild or renovate a wing or two of the manor? Hmph. If you have a nightmare, then you have a nightmare. No big deal.”
That’s right, if things get broken, they will just fix them! Baby Noah was convinced. With his pure heart clear of worries, he turned to reassuringly pat Levi’s shoulder, “Dad has a point. It is too late now to move beds. You’ll be more comfortable sleeping in one of those nice, large beds in the guest rooms.” And he even added, “My soothing is not yet fully recovered anyway, so I can only passively soothe you right now. Even if I am an SS-ranked Soother, passive soothing doesn’t have the same efficacy as active soothing. You are better off getting soothed by another Soother tonight.”
His baby had already spoken; what else could Levi say? No matter how dark his face was, all he could do was to grit his teeth and swallow down his indignation and bitterness. And so, while dragging his legs towards the guest room, Astar Levi kept internally cursing his father-in-law and throwing wistful glances towards his baby all the way until he turned the corner.
‘This is not over!’ Levi silently promised to himself. ‘I’ll remember this, father-in-law!’
***
That day, after the wedding change announcement, the netizens went mad. The internet was set on fire, proving without the shadow of a doubt that homo sapiens loved watching the world burn.
Servers of social media sites crashed several times, making their tech support personnel nearly cough out blood. The media had a field day, their creative juices flowing quicker than the saliva dripping from a famished dog smelling the scent of meat. As if injected with top-grade stimulants, one click-bait title after another kept popping out without stop.
Nay-sayers cried it was all a conspiracy. Empathizers cried that they knew it all along – no way Maery and Levi had anything between them! Yet those who cried the loudest of all were the outraged “girlfriend” fans of Cordia Aris. Their wonderful dream of one day snatching themselves one Cordia Aris was slaughtered in cold blood just like that! (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ ┻━┻
If he had been snatched by some otherworldly beauty, they could understand, but their darling had been kidnapped by a big and fierce man known far and wide for his shitty personality! This accursed Astar Levi will definitely not treat their precious prince well!
Overnight, voodoo dolls of Astar Levi (bundled with a lovely set of needless 👍), became popular and started selling like hotcakes.
It wasn’t just Aris’ fans that were outraged – that day, many boys and girls cried tears of blood because the two most eligible bachelors took each other off the market! How would their little hearts not bleed?! What a waste of resources!! QAQ ‘Bros, can’t you leave something good for the rest of us?!?’
Of course, besides voodoo dolls, some other merchandise saw a booming rise in sales, too… ahem, ahem… Certain artists and writers of refined taste felt just as inspired as their journalist comrades and started to pump out some questionable drawings and writings that brought endless joy to fujo–ahem, a special part of the female population…
***
In the dead of night, after all of the bedroom lights had been extinguished, deep within the Cordia manor, a dark figure emerged from the cover of shadows.
Its steps made no sound as it floated down the hall of the deathly still manor like a ghost.
With steely determination, an unwavering heart, and a clear goal in mind, it slowly honed in on its target. Creeping upon a certain bedroom door like a predator cornering its prey.
Yet, as the very door it had been searching for laid right in front of it, the silence of the night was shattered by a polite voice, “Mr. Levi, is there something you need from my young master this late at night?”
The flower thief, Astar Levi, dressed in black from head to toe and floating with his Enforcer power, wordlessly stared at the two bodyguards stationed in front of Noah’s door by the astute Cordia daddy, “…” (ꐦಠ益ಠ) ‘…I underestimated your shrewdness, father-in-law! But I assure you, it shall not happen again! Next time, I shall… I shall…’
“Mr. Levi? Is there an issue?” Levi’s inspiring internal monologue of grudges and vengeance was interrupted by the same guard who had previously spoken.
“No…” Levi swallowed down his resentment, “Just looking for the toilet.” (¬_¬;)
The bodyguard in question responded with a knowing smile, “There is one directly connected to your guest room.”
Levi, “…” ಠ_ಠ ‘Who hired this tactless buffoon?! You…! You must be one of Trey’s, right?! Definitely working for the other side!!’ (°ㅂ°╬)
Astar Levi’s floating form slumped back to the ground, and he grouchily trotted back to his own bedroom. He had waited so long to sneak into his baby’s bed too! All the way until that blasted Soother left! Yet in the end…
‘No! This is not a defeat! Just a tactical retreat!’ Levi comforted his broken heart, ‘I shall be the final victor! In the end, your resistance is simply futile, father-in-law! (ꐦ ≖ ‸ ≖) Mark my words! Two days! Your cabbage will be dug up by me in two days!’
“Mr. Levi, the light switch is to your right,” The faithful guard helpfully reminded, “You might hit something if you continue walking in the dark.”
As if on cue, Levi tripped.
Not due to actually running into something, but due to the sheer nerve of this person!! As if he couldn’t tell that he had intentionally sneaked over in the dark!!!
‘I’ll remember you, nameless guard!!’ (°ㅂ°╬)
Nameless guard, '…Actually, I have a name. It's–' o( ̄▽ ̄)d
Levi, 'Tsk! (≖ ‸ ≖) How will I add his name to my revenge list if I don't know what it is?'
Nameless guard (゚×゚lll), '–nameless guard! I am definitely nameless! Honest! (っ °Д °;)っAsk my nameless mother if you don't believe me!'
***
The next morning, Noah woke up fully refreshed, completely unaware that he had almost been visited by a rogue in the dead of night. Such a good night's rest! Oh, how nice it was to NOT be woken up by something hard and stiff poking your behind! ╰(*°▽°*)╯
Noah merrily exited his room only to run into Levi, who, judging by his slightly bloodshot eyes and gloomy aura, definitely did not have a good rest.
‘Sure enough!’ Noah sighed a bit wryly, and yet, a bit coyly, ‘My soothing is still the best.’
Blackie, ‘…of course it is. Other people’s soothing services don’t include jerking the other off or hugging them to sleep.’ (¬‿¬)
I know many of you are dying for the wedding to come already. Patience, comrades, we are nearly there. There are two days left now before the wedding, and this pair of husbands will do a lot of misc things during these days like picking rings, changing honeymoon plans, etc. which I don’t intend to go into detail about. There will be a couple of scenes with Levi x Noah sugar and a bunch of words about the terrorist investigation results, but after this, the case will be nearly solved. The only thing left will be just apprehending the masterminds. So these two days will pass quickly, and we will reach that wedding in no time.
“At least we tried…” Noah considerately patted Levi on the shoulder, “How about I come over to soothe you before bed tonight?” Seeing the hopeful gleam in the other’s eyes, Noah proudly added, “That’s right! My soothing is back to 100%! I am as good as new!” Levi’s tightly pressed lips relaxed into a smile, sweeping away the grumpiness in favor of blissful expectation. ‘See that? Baby sending himself to my door! Hmph! I’m dying to see how you’ll prevent your son from sleeping in my bed tonight, father-in-law!’ Cordia daddy, ‘…Challenge accepted!’ (≖_≖) And thus, the two soon-to-be-newlyweds had their breakfast in a merry mood and then, together with their bodyguard entourage, made their way to the peacekeeper station. *** Fynn had dark circles comparable to a panda, a clear testament to how little sleep he had gotten last night. However, unlike most sleep-deprived people, he was in an excellent mood. They had picked up Druxa’
“No wonder Asan’s mother was so uncooperative,” Noah rubbed his chin deep in thought, sitting comfortably in his exclusive, premium-quality Levi-seat. “Even if she can avoid being implicated personally, those illegal drug trials will still be causing her a massive headache for quite a while. Also…” Noah’s amber eyes squinted, much like a cat enjoying a petting, which was exactly what his fluffy head was currently receiving from his human chair, “She must have entrusted this project to her son, and now that things went south, she is protecting him in her own way.” Pleased by how well-behaved his human was today, kitty Noah rewarded the other by leaning back into his warm and comfortable chest. “Even if one of them is clean, the other certainly can’t be. Someone with high enough authority had to grant those unknown communicators access to the lab, and the only two who could have done that were the two of them. What else can she do but remain tight-lipped and threaten us with l
The “well-behaved” and “obedient” husband, Astar Levi, noticed his darling’s worry, thus he immediately jumped to console him. His hand flew to gently rub his baby’s waist, and his voice softened, “It could also be that Asan is avoiding the peacekeepers because he has something to hide. He might be holed up somewhere right now, perfectly fine.” The light touch left Noah feeling ticklish. His cheeks flushed pink, and he quickly covered the naughty hand with his to prevent it from further movement. The sight of all this made Fynn’s teeth ache, hence, he abruptly interrupted the lovey-dovey scene with “Aris, how about you two go back home, and we talk about the rest through a video call?” Baby Noah didn’t have mind-reading powers, thus, he turned to Fynn to blankly stare with his head tilted to the side, “…why???” Seeing a confused ginger kitty with wide amber eyes, Fynn almost blurted out, ‘Why??? Because even if I close my eyes, your sugary intents
Fynn nodded with a triumphant smile, “And that’s exactly why they have been just hoarding bullets instead of using them this entire time! They were putting off the full execution of their plans until Swiftrain sent you to the other side!” Noah, “…” ‘I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I don’t want to rain on your parade, but… As a bro that came from the other side, I can confirm that their plan was 100% effective…’ 〒▽〒 Blackie, “Too bad it didn’t occur to them that sending goes both ways, ah! If they can send people to the other side, the other side can send people over right back!” (☞゚∀゚)☞ Noah, “…” (◞‸ლ) ‘I appreciate your attempts of lifting the mood, but that just sounds really creepy… like… rise-of-the-undead level of creepy…’ Fynn’s declaration still echoed in the room, yet Noah remained silent, his expression unreadable. There was nothing wrong with Fynn feeling a sense of achievement and victory due to this big breakthr
Noah had a thin face and hugging in public was embarrassing enough; he really couldn’t handle anything more! And on top of it all, with every minute that passed, the harder it became for him to distinguish the act from reality. He didn’t like this, he didn’t like it at all! Even if it was all an act, his feelings weren’t an act! Everything happening felt real to him, so once the act was over, how would he be able to just pretend like nothing had happened?! Being kissed so gently like this, only a block of wood wouldn’t feel their heartstrings quivering! Levi, whose eyes never left his baby’s face, noticed Noah’s momentary flash of regret and, like a seasoned general, seized this opening to strike. Looking very remorseful, he dropped another gentle kiss on Noah’s supple cheek, “I’m sorry, baby, don’t be angry. Next time I kiss, I’ll make sure others can’t see.” Noah’s eyes widened, and he attempted to turn his head away to avoid further kisses, “Still acting?
Noah just couldn’t enter into this mental state of make-believe. Regardless of the intention behind it, it was still a hug! How could he view it as something other than what it was? But this inability to pretend was his own psychological issue… He shouldn’t make Levi suffer due to it. The right thing to do would be to grit his teeth and pull through these remaining couple of days. Noah let out a long and heavy sigh, but his arms that had been crossed defensively in front of him loosened. He skittishly eyed Levi’s torso, thinking about how to best go about returning the hug. ‘Noah, you can do it!’ He encouraged himself, ‘How come you didn’t feel shy hugging Levi a few days earlier? Why are you suddenly making such a big deal out of it?’ Before he could even finish that thought, Noah answered his own question, ‘How could it be the same?! A few days earlier, I was hugging my good and straight brother-in-law! And now I’m hugging my own not-e
“And?” Noah tilted his brown head. “Since it’s still in development, we don’t have a large database of people to compare it against just yet…” Noah’s nose wrinkled, “So nothing?” “On the contrary,” Fynn’s mouth curled up, “Since we didn’t have a database, I pulled up some footage of the last city council meeting for testing purposes. Who would have thought we’d actually manage to get a match.” Fynn’s smile disappeared, replaced by a frown, “Too bad that the technology is still experimental, and its results aren’t yet considered reliable enough to be used in court.” Noah leaned forward towards the light screen, his little butt nearly slipping off the sofa, “Heh, for testing purposes, you say? Weren’t you trying to check whether this person is councilor Desmond?” Fynn’s frown was once again replaced by a guilty-as-charged look, and he scratched his head sheepishly, “He is one of the shareholders of Druxa, and the main advocate for the monitoring
“… The owner of the other unknown number is not on our footage.” Fynn scratched his head helplessly, “But as you can see, the only way into the lab is through this hallway, and the only way into the hallway is through these doors that are under surveillance. Thus, everyone entering the hallway should be captured on camera. And yet, here we are…” Fynn sighed before continuing, “At first, we thought that the footage had been tampered with, but there are no missing periods of time nor any other signs it had been messed with. Besides for the Ghost, the times reported by the footage and the access logs match up for everyone else.” Fynn shook his head, “Under the assumption that it wasn’t an issue with the footage, we went back and turned the entire place upside down again. But we still did not manage to find another way into the lab. We even considered the possibility of this person being invisible, but there was no footage of the doors opening by themselves. And