"He'll Seduce Your Fiancé!"

[Hidden looks, pretending to be an Omega, carefully plotting every step—he really did have the makings of a protagonist.]

[And look at our silly little brother—pretty and bad-tempered. If you don't become a villain, who will?]

Yumian was barely holding himself back. He desperately wanted to rush over and ask what kind of nonsense Shi Sheng was spouting.

But every time he turned to look, Shi Sheng was expressionlessly chewing on bread.

[Yumian, you absolutely can't believe him. This Noah lived one lifetime longer than all of us. In his previous life, Carlos destroyed his family, and the chance that should have been his to marry into the royal family was given to you instead. Now that he's come back to life, he's here to take revenge on you.]

[Let me think... Oh, right. Next, he'll seduce your almost-fiancé, drive a wedge between you and your brothers, and the two of them will work together to ruin your reputation.]

[You'll be so furious that you drug him at a banquet, but he'll turn it back on you. From then on, your reputation will be in tatters, and you'll marry some disgusting old man... Ah, how miserable!]

[How could our pretty little elf marry a disgusting old man?]

Yumian's eyes widened, filled with disbelief and anger.

After waiting a long while without hearing him speak, Noah hesitated before cautiously asking, "Young Master?"

[No, no, I need to think of some reason to make Yumian not believe him. But it feels like he won't believe me in the first place...]

[Ah, this is so hard. Maybe I should leave this part alone for now and wait until Elaine gets back.]

[When is Elaine coming back? I really want to see him.]

Yumian: ...

What did he mean, leave it alone? How could he just stop caring about him? Keep talking, you bastard!

Yumian was entirely focused on getting answers from Shi Sheng and had no interest in the person before him. He waved a hand. "Forget it. We'll talk later. Go do your own work."

Noah watched in surprise as Yumian strode toward the corner of the dining room, his hand clenching tightly.

Yumian pulled out a chair and sat opposite Shi Sheng, silently staring at him.

Shi Sheng still had toast between his lips, while his fork held a slice of bacon.

"?" He conveyed his friendliness to Yumian with his eyes.

But in Yumian's eyes, the white-skinned, red-haired Omega had merely lowered his eyelids to glance at him, his face full of utter despair.

Yumian opened his mouth. "You..."

He wanted to ask whether Shi Sheng had been complaining about him in his head, only to find that he could not say those words.

He tried several different phrasings, but still could not make a sound.

Yumian could only change to a completely unrelated topic. "Is it good?"

"..." There was no need to pick such a friendly topic!

At that moment, Yumian dearly wished he could slap his own mouth.

Shi Sheng had no idea that Yumian could hear all his thoughts. Slightly delighted by Yumian taking the initiative, he hurriedly swallowed the toast, set down his fork, and pulled a small device from his pocket.

It was a palm-sized rectangular tablet. Shi Sheng rapidly tapped it several times with his fingers.

Following his movements, the tablet produced a rough child's voice. "It's~ de~li~cious~"

That was right, a child's voice—but an extremely rough one, a little like the shameless brat from some old, universally beloved cartoon.

Shi Sheng paused, then Yumian watched him expressionlessly tap the tablet once before pressing the keys again.

This time, it switched to a more normal mechanical male voice. "Very. Delicious."

"..." Yumian held back, but ultimately could not suppress his curiosity. "What exactly is wrong with your throat?"

Shi Sheng lowered his head and typed rapidly. The mechanical male voice sounded again. "Just. A. Small. Problem. Thank. You. For. Your. Concern. Little. Brother."

As the final syllable fell, the tablet projected a blushing cat emoji into the air.

Yumian looked at the cat, then at Shi Sheng's expressionless face, and felt that this morning was far too surreal.

[What should I say?]

Shi Sheng's inner thoughts began again, and Yumian immediately perked up his ears.

[Since Noah showed up just now, my little brother's almost-fiancé should be coming today too, right?]

[How am I supposed to tell him that his fiancé has already hooked up with the protagonist at this point?]

[After the protagonist repaired Xiao An for Yumian, Yumian casually mentioned it to his almost-fiancé. His fiancé told him that the royal family had always valued talents like that, so Yumian got the idea of promoting the protagonist to his side, using that to improve his chances of marrying into the royal family.]

[The story said that the villainous Omega quite liked this fiancé. Is that true? Wasn't he just using the man's identity as the emperor's nephew as a stepping stone?]

[But Elaine is already so impressive. Why is his little brother still so determined to marry into the royal family? Does he like the crown prince?]

Who said that!

Yumian slapped the table.

Shi Sheng jumped in fright and looked at him blankly.

Yumian blinked slowly, realizing what he had done, then abruptly stood and walked away without looking back.

The fake sister-in-law had given him too much information. He could not process it all. He needed to find Lindsay, the smartest person in their family besides his eldest brother!

Before Yumian had the chance to find Lindsay in the laboratory, someone came to report that Lanreese had arrived.

He paused slightly. "He didn't tell me he was coming today."

Shi Sheng had actually been right.

Lanreese's mother was His Majesty's biological younger sister, while his father was the head of House Lan and held the title of duke. He was royal through and through.

While Yumian's mother was still alive, House Lan had intended for Lanreese to marry Yumian. But the two had been too young then, and Lanreese's mother had feared the Carlos family curse, leaving her rather dissatisfied with Yumian.

Not long after Yumian came of age, he had not paid much attention to his own marriage prospects.

But no matter what, that was not a reason for Lanreese to deceive and betray him.

Yumian changed course and headed for the reception room. The moment Lanreese saw him, he quickly came forward, bent down, took his hand, and kissed the back of it.

"Good morning, Yumian. Your beauty today is as radiant as the morning sun."

The Alpha before him was graceful and familiar, and unlike others, he was not afraid of Carlos.

Yumian thought, who said Shi Sheng was telling the truth? How could he believe him so easily?

But the next second, Yumian heard Lanreese say, "On my way here, I heard the butler say you lost your temper this morning. Who upset you?"

Yumian keenly sensed something amiss. Without revealing anything, he glanced at Lanreese. "Nothing. A servant was clumsy and broke Xiao An."

"That was something Auntie left you." Lanreese said anxiously. "How was it handled afterward?"

Yumian changed the subject instead. "Do you have a dance partner for the royal ball in a few days?"

Lanreese paused, then smiled. "Of course, my dance partner can only be the beautiful Yumian."

Yumian smiled slightly and used that to bring up choosing formalwear and other matters.

But Lanreese seemed somewhat distracted. Sure enough, it was not long before he said, as if casually,

"Yumian, those are all minor matters. How is Xiao An now?"

Yumian looked at Lanreese without much emotion. "You know Xiao An is difficult to repair once it breaks."

"Oh, that's truly terrible." Lanreese revealed a regretful expression. "Don't be sad. Perhaps you could ask the butler, or look for talented people around you. Maybe someone understands such things?"

Abrupt. Lanreese's suggestion was far too abrupt.

Yumian laughed inwardly, yet he had no choice but to believe—

Shi Sheng had indeed been telling the truth.

After dealing with Lanreese and sending him away, Yumian returned to his room. Looking at the broken robot on the table, a cold smile suddenly bloomed on his face.

According to Shi Sheng, he was a villain?

So what? It was not as though Carlos had a good reputation now.

Just as he was thinking that, another voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

[Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, today, tomorrow...]

"?"

Yumian was a little shocked. Could he hear Shi Sheng's thoughts from so far away?

Wait, he suddenly remembered that his room was next to the garden.

And that voice...

Yumian walked to the bed and forcefully pushed open the window.

Then he found himself staring wide-eyed at Shi Sheng, who was crouching beneath the windowsill.

Flower petals had scattered all around Shi Sheng's feet.

[Ahhh, why is little brother here?]

[Oh no, I got caught red-handed picking flowers.]

[But didn't the butler say his fiancé had come? Shouldn't he be on a date?]

[This is so hard to think about. I feel like I'm going to grow a brain. When exactly is Elaine coming back?]

[Today? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow?]

Yumian: ...

He seemed to know what Shi Sheng had been muttering earlier.

At that very moment, he also wanted his brother to return quickly and deal with this impostor.

When the Galactic Legion truly returned in triumph, Yumian felt nothing but immense regret.

Because even though his room and Elaine's were separated by an entire garden, Shi Sheng's surging thoughts woke him early in the morning.

[The butler said the legion's message said it would be today! Elaine is coming back!]

[They should be going to the palace to see His Majesty first, right? But I can't sleep in either. There isn't as much time to prepare as I thought.]

[Damn it, I couldn't sleep last night. Do I have dark circles under my eyes today?]

[Will Elaine think I'm ugly?]

[But his little brother said his older brother was good-looking. The two brothers should have the same taste, and I look just like his older brother—hm, it shouldn't be a problem!]

Yumian was puzzled. When had he ever complimented Shi Yi? He had never even met Shi Yi!

Oh, he must have been referring to his second brother.

Then Yumian truly wanted to tell Shi Sheng that his eldest and second brothers' tastes were worlds apart.

There was probably nothing in this world that his eldest brother liked.

"Idiot. Instead of standing there admiring yourself, you should think about how to keep your little life once you meet my brother."

Yumian muttered complaints under his breath and simply got up early as well.

The servants filed in. As Yumian was putting on his coat, he suddenly spotted a somewhat familiar face.

"Noah?"

The Beta lifted his head, still wearing a mask. "Yes, Young Master. What are your orders?"

Yumian asked, "Who sent you here?"

Noah lowered his eyes. "The butler said there were enough people in the dining room and sent me here to help."

Yumian looked Noah over again from head to toe, his gaze finally falling on the back of Noah's neck.