"Why don't you ask Lorraine?"
At Xia Nan's words, Ellison's expression froze. Clearly, he hadn't expected such a question out of nowhere.
The atmosphere in the room stiffened.
After three seconds of silence, he suddenly let out a sigh.
He leaned back, settling his entire body against the chair.
"She told you?"
A deep weariness filled Ellison's expression as he spoke slowly.
Earlier, Xia Nan had asked him about his relationship with Lorraine. Ellison's expression had been noticeably strange then, and he had avoided the subject, seemingly unwilling to discuss it further.
Later, Xia Nan had learned from Lorraine that she and Ellison were siblings.
Now that Xia Nan had asked this, coupled with his earlier mention of temporarily joining the Oath of Vengeance Blades Squad, Ellison knew Xia Nan had probably learned of their relationship from Lorraine. He simply stopped concealing it.
Watching the middle-aged man before him, Xia Nan could not help feeling puzzled.
His emotional intelligence might not have been particularly high, and he certainly was not someone who could navigate every social situation with ease, but neither was he a dull blockhead incapable of sensing changes in others' emotions. His keen Perception allowed Xia Nan to clearly notice the changes in Lorraine and Ellison's expressions whenever they mentioned each other.
Clearly, the relationship between these siblings was not particularly good.
Perhaps... they had not been in contact for a long time?
"How did your mission go?"
Perhaps lost in thought, or perhaps because he knew Xia Nan was already aware of their relationship, Ellison no longer avoided the topic and suddenly asked.
"It went alright. There were a few complications, and everyone in the team suffered some minor injuries," Xia Nan replied. "But we were lucky. No one on the ship died."
"What kind of person