Skadi, My Wife

"!?"

Without another word, Exusiai turned and ran.

Texas did not go after the fleeing Exusiai, but Exusiai ultimately returned to stand before her.

—It was Chen An!

When Chen An saw Exusiai enter the house, only to panic and flee shortly afterward while constantly shouting, "Help! Texas is going to kill someone!", he cleverly realized that Texas must have been angry because the three of them had left her home alone today without even saying goodbye.

Better a dead friend than a dead me... No, sacrificing one person was better than sacrificing three.

With that utterly shameless thought in mind, Chen An immediately chose to defect with Skadi. He caught the fleeing Exusiai and presented her before Texas as an apology.

Exusiai: "???"

Still unable to process the tragic fact that her teammates had sold her out, Exusiai finally came to her senses only to find herself tied to the chair Texas had been sitting in earlier, unable to move.

Furious, she snapped, "What is this!? You bastard! You actually sold me out! I'll remember this! Just wait until I'm free—I'll make you pay!"

Still wanted freedom? Did she think Texas's sword was just for decoration? She had stood Texas up without a word all day. Did she think she would still have a tomorrow?

Giving Exusiai, who was at death's door without realizing it, a pitying glance, Chen An turned around and scampered over to Texas. He pressed her shoulders like a fawning lackey as he wheedled:

"Texas, we've known each other for so long. You know what kind of person I am, right? Upright, dependable, and full of integrity. So you can probably guess, right? Us sneaking out without telling you today was definitely all Exusiai's fault. If you're angry, remember to take it out on her."

Exusiai flew into a rage, and the lightbulb atop her head shone blindingly bright... Oh, right, she had given that lightbulb to Chen An as a token of love. It was not on her head anymore, so scratch that last part.

Exusiai flew into a rage. "Bullshit! How could it all be my fault? You dare slander me like this? Are you trying to die!?"

"—Shut up!"

With a pained expression, Chen An angrily rebuked Exusiai. "How isn't it all your fault? If you hadn't insisted on going out to play because you didn't want to stay home, how could we have left Texas alone at home and gone out ourselves? Exusiai! When will you finally become as mature and steady as I am, instead of letting your love of fun get in the way?"

"Go die!"

Exusiai glared angrily at Chen An and raised a foot to kick him, but Chen An was quick enough to dodge in time.

Having kicked at empty air, Miss Exusiai became even more furious. She shouted, "I never said we should go out to play! That was obviously your idea! Texas, you have to believe me!"

Texas remained silent. She looked at Exusiai, then at Chen An. No matter whom she looked at, her gaze was filled with hostility.

Chen An: "..."

Damn! It would have been fine if one person took the blame, yet she had actually sold him out too. No loyalty at all!

Cursing inwardly, Chen An hurriedly gave Texas a bright smile and explained in a voice full of sincerity, "Don't listen to Exusiai's nonsense. Worrying that Miss Ceylon might find us if we stayed at home, deciding to escape over the balcony, and thinking it was fine to leave you home alone—how could I possibly have thought of something like that? Texas, you have to believe me."

He spoke with such conviction that it sounded real.

Texas: "..."

Thanks to Chen An's explanation, she now understood that the idea to leave her behind and go out to play had indeed been Chen An's.

Her fluffy ears twitched, and her gaze toward Chen An became even more unfriendly.

Pretending not to notice anything wrong with Texas's stare, Chen An babbled a few more excuses at her before turning back toward Exusiai. He looked at her with pained indignation and launched another righteous reprimand.

"It's all your fault, Exusiai!"

How was it her fault again? Exusiai's mouth twitched.

"I say we're going out to play, and we go out to play. I ask you to warm my bed, and you refuse to warm my bed. You clearly knew Texas would be pitiful if she was left home alone, yet you still agreed to my proposal. Exusiai, can you face Texas after that?"

Exusiai said nothing. A vein bulged at her temple.

"You can't. Exusiai, you haven't just wronged Texas—you've wronged me too. I'm so handsome, yet you actually sold me out just now. Doesn't your conscience hurt after doing something like that?"

Exusiai stared expressionlessly at Chen An as he spoke with great enthusiasm. Her dead-fish eyes gradually filled with surging killing intent.

Where was her gun? Where was her gun!?

Someone, hurry up and bring me my gun! I'm going to smash this shameless bastard to the ground with the stock, then use Texas's Originium Sword to cut him into eight pieces, burn him to ashes, and throw those ashes into Siesta's sea to feed the fish!

Unaware that Exusiai was nearly angered into losing her mind, Chen An turned to look at Skadi after giving Exusiai a stern lecture.

"Skadi, don't you agree?"

Without even thinking, Skadi declared loudly, "Chen An is right!"

Exusiai: "..."

She finally exploded.

"—Enough!"

With an angry shout, Exusiai broke free of the ropes around her and stood up in a fury—the ropes had never been tied tightly in the first place. They were only for show.

"Chen An is one thing. He's just an asshole. But Skadi, how could you say that about me too?"

Exusiai looked at Skadi in disbelief, so heartbroken she could barely breathe. "Have you forgotten how well I've treated you? Whenever there was something tasty or fun, I never forgot to share it with you. I even often helped you come up with ways to win Chen An over. After all that, you actually said Chen An was right. Can you face me after that?"

Skadi hesitated before quietly telling the truth. "When I said Chen An was right, I meant when he said he was handsome."

Chen An really was very good-looking.

Exusiai: "..."

After an awkward silence, she sat back down. As she did, she did not forget to pick up the rope she had shaken loose onto the floor and wrap it around herself a few times.

Exusiai said solemnly to Chen An, "Chen An, let's continue. As long as Texas doesn't cut me down, you can say whatever you want."

How was he supposed to keep acting when she was like this?

Giving Exusiai a disdainful look, Chen An rubbed his hands together and sidled back over to Texas.

The lackey act possessed him again. With a flattering smile, he asked, "Texas, have you had dinner? If not, I'll make it for you. What do you want to eat?"

Exusiai's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Apple pie! I want apple pie!"

"Shut up. Idiots don't get to speak!"

Without mercy, Chen An rejected Exusiai's suggestion, leaving her pouting unhappily as he continued fussing over Texas.

Texas had been a little angry at first, but now she only wanted to laugh.

Anyone would want to laugh after witnessing Chen An and Exusiai, two dramatic actors, put on such a wonderful performance of infighting, even if they had truly been furious.

And Texas had not been very angry in the first place. She had treated Exusiai that way earlier only because she had been annoyed and wanted to scare her a little, teach her a lesson.

That was why, when Exusiai had run away in fright, she had not chased after her at all. When Chen An later tied her up and acted along with her, Texas had merely watched the show with interest and never done anything.

After watching such an entertaining performance under those circumstances, of course she wanted to laugh.

Texas suppressed her laughter and maintained her indifferent expression. She glanced at Exusiai, then said lightly amid Exusiai's despairing look of "How could you do this!?"

"As long as it isn't apple pie, anything is fine."

That night.

"Get out, get out, get out! Hurry up and get lost! If I see you again within the next hour, I'll beat you to death!"

After Exusiai dragged Chen An into playing games with her for a while, she got so upset from losing that she furiously kicked him out.

She could not stand losing, yet she loved playing. Could she not change things up and play co-op games instead of competitive ones?

Too lazy to argue with the bristling Exusiai, Chen An curled his lip and returned to his room.

It was not that late yet, and Chen An did not feel like resting.

After thinking about it, he went to the balcony, intending to enjoy the night scenery for a while.

But...

"Sir, over here! Over here!"

The moment he stepped onto the balcony, he heard someone calling for him.

Following the voice and looking down, he saw Ceylon happily waving at him from downstairs.

Chen An: "..."

Could he pretend he had heard nothing and go back inside now?

Ceylon Feels Something Is Off

Chen An wanted to pretend he had not seen Ceylon, but in the end, his heart was too soft to do that—absolutely because his heart was too soft, not because he saw Schwarz standing behind Ceylon with an unfriendly expression and worried that if he ignored Ceylon, Schwarz would come smash his windows tonight. Definitely not!

Knowing how persistent this girl was, yet still being so careless—was he an idiot?

Cursing himself inwardly, Chen An sighed helplessly, braced his hands on the balcony railing, and flipped himself off the second floor.

Ceylon jumped in fright and hurried over. "Sir, are you all right?"

"It's fine, it's fine. It's not that high. Nothing will happen."

Chen An waved dismissively, then added, "Also, stop calling me sir. It sounds weird. Miss Ceylon, just call me by my name. I'm Chen An—Chen as in Chen An, An as in Chen An."

"Chen An..."

Softly repeating Chen An's name, Ceylon had actually known it long ago. But since Chen An had always avoided her, this was the first time she had heard him introduce himself. She agreed happily, "I understand."

Lifting her skirt, she performed a lady's curtsy and introduced herself as well. "Ceylon Dorcus. That is my name. Chen An, you may call me by my name from now on too."

"No problem."

Chen An readily agreed. He had long thought "Miss Ceylon" was too long anyway.

After their brief introductions, Chen An smiled wryly. "Convincing your father is your business, and it is beyond my ability. Ceylon, I already told you that, didn't I? Why are you still so persistent?"

"But my father... he does not seem to believe what I told him."

Ceylon looked somewhat dejected. "I've told him what you said many times, Chen An, but even now, I haven't seen my father take any action."

She looked at Chen An expectantly. "You are a very capable person, Chen An. I think that if you meet my father, you will definitely be able to convince him."

Chen An was speechless. Instead of relying on herself as his daughter, she was relying on him, an outsider? What kind of logic was that?

And besides...

He glanced at the quiet Schwarz behind Ceylon and could not help shaking his head.

They had already investigated everything he had done since coming to Siesta and even sent someone to thank him. How was that not trusting her? How was that doing nothing?

Chen An said helplessly, "Believe me, your father has not failed to trust you, nor has he done nothing."

"But..."

"No buts."

Stopping Ceylon, who clearly did not believe him and was about to say more, Chen An pointed at Schwarz. "If you don't believe me, ask Miss Schwarz. She came to see me during the day. Your father sent her to express his gratitude on your behalf. Whether your father believed you, and whether he acted after hearing you, she can definitely give you the answer."

Ceylon froze. Subconsciously turning around, she looked at Schwarz, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Schwarz, is what Chen An said true?"

Schwarz seemed to want to speak but hesitated, revealing obvious reluctance.

Ceylon had known Schwarz since childhood. To her, Schwarz, who had grown up alongside her, was not merely a bodyguard but family, like an older sister. The reason she would leave Siesta when she grew up and study Originium research in Victoria was because of Schwarz—Schwarz had already contracted Oripathy when they first met, and Ceylon wanted to cure her.

Schwarz was extremely important to Ceylon, and Ceylon understood Schwarz very well. From Schwarz's reaction, she could tell that Schwarz really had been hiding something from her. Ceylon became even more incredulous.

"You really were hiding something from me... Schwarz, why did you hide something like this from me?"

She cried out agitatedly, "My father is one thing, but why you!? Did you think this was amusing!?"

Schwarz said nothing. She lowered her gaze and avoided Ceylon's eyes.

Ceylon's intense reaction surprised Chen An somewhat, but after giving it a little thought, he did not find it strange.

Being kept in the dark by someone important, especially over something one considered important, would make anyone angry.

Thinking of that, Chen An could not help scratching his head. He had only mentioned that Schwarz visited him during the day because he wanted Ceylon to know the truth and stop stubbornly asking him to persuade her father. But looking at it now, it seemed he had said the wrong thing.

The first time Chen An met Ceylon and Schwarz, he had realized their relationship was unusual.

Schwarz had said she was Ceylon's bodyguard, but what ordinary bodyguard looked at their employer with such gentleness?

More importantly, Schwarz was not simply gentle whenever she looked at Ceylon. Only when looking at Ceylon did her gaze soften. At all other times, no matter what she looked at, her eyes were cold.