The "True Fragrance" Law Might Be Late, but It Always Arrives

Summer nights over the Arctic Ocean were brief.

Only a little over three hours had passed since the gathering, yet sunlight had already illuminated the sea of clouds concealing the fortress.

As Leon flew through the rays streaming in through the windows with Super Vision activated,

he had expected to see Tony on the deck, his repulsors blazing as he faced off against a group of armed Widow agents.

Instead, what he saw was utterly baffling.

"What's going on?" Leon muttered, speeding up.

On the deck,

Tony was blocked by seven or eight Widow agents.

More than thirty other women stood several meters away, whispering about Tony.

There was even a hint of alcohol on their faces. Every now and then, they gestured with their hands as if comparing something.

But the strangest one was Tony.

Wearing the Mark 3 armor, he neither flew into the air nor activated any weapon systems.

Instead, he crossed his hands before his lower abdomen, stepped his left foot to the right, then stepped his right foot to the left.

The movement was even more seductive than the models Leon had seen at Victoria's Secret two years ago.

"Tony's not in any danger. Why did they say it was urgent?" Leon's expression turned odd.

"And what is he doing? A catwalk? Come on, that's way too stupid."

Tony was still trying to reason with the Widow agents.

His faceplate had flipped open, and his expression was inexplicably awkward.

"I told you, your new boss and I are brothers. Brothers, understand?"

"I'm his big brother! If you still won't let me in, I'll transfer you to the company and make you Pepper's secretary!"

The woman talking to him looked relaxed, her gun resting at her waist and both hands behind her back.

She looked troubled. "Mr. Stark, without Superman's permission, I can't let you in!"

"Since you've already had the AI notify him, I'm sure there'll be a reply soon. Just wait a little longer."

"But about what you just said, if Superman agrees, I'd be willing to work at Stark Industries."

She even began chatting with him. "Your company pays very well. I've never received a salary before, and I heard the coastal scenery in Los Angeles is nice too..."

"Are you serious? You're talking to me about salary right now, huh?" Tony stared at her. "Nicole Parsons, if you let me in, I'll pay you a hundred thousand a month!"

"Sorry, no. And my name isn't Nicole Parsons. My name is Mary..."

"That's the name of a female agent from The Bourne Identity. Tony's giving you a nickname, Mary." Leon, who had been observing the situation from the side, finally appeared.

After landing, he patted the Widow agent on the shoulder.

"Good job. The drinks I bought you weren't for nothing. Now let our Uncle Tony go inside."

Mary and the other Widows finally stepped aside, smiling. "Then you can't run away halfway through the next gathering."

The drinking and merrymaking at the gathering

had made the women more familiar with Leon.

They behaved much more casually around him now, but the respect in their eyes had not diminished in the slightest. If anything, there was now a little more trust.

"Next time, I'll get every one of you drunk before I leave."

Leon smiled and turned to spread his arms toward Tony. "Tony! How did you find this place? Look at your face, you look just like..."

"Please, why are you only coming out now? Move, move, I need to get inside!" Tony shoved Leon aside.

His face was flushed, like he had been holding his breath underwater for three minutes.

"JARVIS, guide me there, then crank the armor's thrusters to maximum!"

All of the Mark 3's thrusters ignited at once, and it shot into the fortress like a cannonball.

Natasha, who had just come out, nearly collided with him head-on. She hurriedly leaped aside and cursed, "Fuck!"

Leon stood frozen in place before finishing the rest of his sentence. "Like a drowning frog."

The women looked at one another upon hearing that comparison and unanimously agreed.

"That was your brother, Tony Stark? What's wrong with him?" Natasha walked over, dusting off her hands.

Leon shrugged. "No idea. JARVIS, what's wrong with him... oh, no, did he just go into the bathroom?"

He casually swept the area with X-Ray Vision.

He saw Tony remove his armor in the bathroom, fiddle around for a while, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

Leon's expression became strange. "JARVIS, how long was Tony traveling?"

"Three hours. Mr. Stark has been busy all day and did not have time to address his physiological needs," JARVIS said.

"Haha!" Leon burst out laughing. "So he couldn't hold it anymore! I was wondering why his feet kept twisting around like that."

The women present suddenly understood as well. No wonder Tony Stark had been acting so strangely.

For a while, laughter filled the deck. Everyone gained a profound new understanding of the Stark brothers.

"I'll go see what Tony came here for. You all keep busy." Leon flew up and returned inside the fortress.

"Tony, do you still think a liquid circulation system is disgusting now?"

The moment Tony stepped out of the bathroom, he saw Leon leaning against the wall and asking him that question.

"..." Tony's expression immediately froze.

After standing still for several seconds, he casually turned his head away. "Sometimes, you have to admit that function is more important than appearance."

"So it's not disgusting anymore?" Leon pressed his index finger to his brow. "I seem to remember that a few days ago, someone said..."

"Fine, I admit it. You had better foresight. The armor really does need a liquid circulation system."

Tony's expression changed, and he hurriedly changed his tune.

He grabbed Leon to end the subject. "I'll add it when I get back, okay? How about you show me around this fairy-tale castle of yours first?"

Having gotten Tony to yield,

Leon felt thoroughly satisfied.

He stopped while he was ahead and went along with Tony. "Sure, this way first. By the way, how did you find this place?"

"JARVIS told me that while I wasn't home, some girl kidnapped my little brother."

"I was worried he'd been fooled so badly he'd lose all sense of direction, so I rushed here overnight to protect him."

Tony spread his hands. "Are you moved by this story?"

"And yet this little brother actually pressed me so hard when I was making a fool of myself. Isn't that too much?"

Leon could not help laughing. "You were obviously hit in the knee by your own boomerang. Who said they'd never use a liquid circulation system even if it killed them?"

"And that nonsense might fool Pepper, but why did you really come here?"

Tony shrugged. "JARVIS told me that a little princess had captured a huge fairy-tale castle and wanted to give it to me, so I came specially to take a look."

"JARVIS told you? Well, I never asked it to keep it secret."

Leon stepped forward to lead the way. "This way. I'll show you what this fortress can do. Also, it's for your fortieth birthday, so there's still plenty of time."

The two toured the fortress from the command room on the upper level down to the engines at the bottom.

Tony analyzed everything nonstop along the way.

"Full-body stealth coating, radar-absorbent materials, and optical camouflage... They really were rich. As expected of the legacy of a superpower."

"Look over here! This fighter jet's power system is pretty good, but it's still twenty years behind my armor."