Alfred's polite yet aloof smile remained unchanged. He looked at Thor with calm eyes and his voice as steady as ever.
"To be precise, it's been thirty-two years, sir."
He used the title "Master," but his tone made it impossible to tell whether it was out of respect or as a test.
Thor placed the empty teacup back on the silver tray in the old butler's hands, the bottom of the cup making a soft clinking sound as it struck the tray.
"What do you think of Bruce and Selene's wedding?" he asked casually.
Bruce had already removed his hood, revealing a handsome but tired face with clearly visible bloodshot eyes.
He didn't speak, but stood quietly in the shadow of the huge dinosaur model, watching the two most important people in his life—his legal father and his de facto father—engage in a silent confrontation.
"This is Bruce's choice, and I have no right to interfere." Alfred smiled as always, like a quintessential old-fashioned United Kingdom gentleman. "As long as he's happy."
"If my intelligence is correct," Thor said, "Something bad might happen on Bruce's wedding day."
"Those Gotham villains, right?" Alfred asked.
This seems to be the only reasonable explanation: Gotham's villains always seem eager to cause trouble at the most crucial moments in Batman's life.
"Who else could it be but those guys who like to play games with Bruce?" Thor shrugged, then glanced at Bruce beside him. "But that's a small matter."
He then changed the subject.
"If I don't go to Selene's place today, she most likely won't marry Bruce."
This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a deep pool.
The smile on Alfred's face finally froze for a moment.
Bruce, who had been silent all along, could no longer remain calm.
"What did you say, Thomas?" His voice was low, carrying suppressed anger and a hint of unease he himself didn't realize.
Thor looked him up and down, as if he were looking at a naive child.
" Bruce, don't you understand your own fiancée?"
He didn't give Bruce a chance to refute and continued speaking.
"In her mind, suffering made Batman. If she marries you, gives you happiness, and in turn makes you give up your identity as Batman, then the world will completely lose the hero Batman, which is unfair to everyone else."
"She didn't want her happiness to mean that when the next crisis hit, no one would be there to step up and save the day."
The Batcave was deathly silent, with only the faint sound of a distant waterfall, like some distant weeping.
Bruce Wayne, the man who could analyze hundreds of tactics in an instant, had his mind completely blank at this moment.
He considered countless possibilities, but never this one.
Selene... that's what she actually thought?
He remained silent for a long time, so long that the air seemed to freeze.
"She... really thinks that?" he asked, his voice dry and hoarse, like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing against each other.
"You ask me? How would I know?" Thor shrugged nonchalantly. "She's your wife, not mine."
Just then, Alfred interrupted.
He looked at Bruce, his eyes filled with the same gentleness and determination that had remained unchanged for decades.
"Master Wayne became Batman because of pain, but what kept him going was never just pain."
The old butler's words, though not harsh, were like a shot of adrenaline.
He paused, then continued, his tone carrying an undeniable air, though it still sounded like a suggestion.
"Young Master Bruce, I think you should have a good talk with your fiancée. How about tomorrow night at the Wayne Manor?"
Thor saw this scene, his face expressionless, but inwardly he scoffed with disdain.
My dear son...
All you ever do is scheme and plot, always thinking about how to test your father?
Do you really think I can't see through you? You deliberately brought me back to see Alfred's reaction, trying to verify my identity through this butler?
It would be too easy to fool him; Alfred's memory was completely unguarded in front of him.
But what's the fun in that? What could be more entertaining than watching Bruce Wayne lose his composure?
You've been scheming against others all your time, and now look what's happened! You didn't even realize your own wife was about to leave you.
Tsk tsk tsk, I'm such a philanthropist!
Thor didn't wait for Bruce's response; he had already achieved his goal.
He looked at Alfred, his tone becoming nostalgic.
" Alfred, take me back to see it. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've stayed at the Wayne Manor."
"Of course, sir." Alfred, carrying the tray, led the way.
As he walked, as if remembering something, he casually asked, "Do you still remember those roses you planted for your wife?"
"Of course I remember," Thor replied without hesitation. "I didn't know how to care for them; I killed them all. Martha teased me about it for a long time, saying I was only suited to dealing with cold medical machines, not delicate plants."
The two figures disappeared one after the other at the elevator entrance leading to the manor.
Their conversation sounded like casual chatter, but every word was actually a subtle probing and witty remark.
Inside the Batcave, only Bruce and Damian remained.
Bruce stood there, half his face shrouded in the cold light of the Batcomputer screen, while the other half was hidden in the deep darkness, his expression indistinct.
He recalled many memories with Selene: the chases on the rooftops, the unspoken understanding, and the brief but warm embraces.
He thought that words were no longer needed between them.
It turns out he was wrong.
Not far away, Damian was unusually not engaged in his usual rigorous training.
He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, poking at the small black ball with his finger.
"Chirp?" Tuotuo rolled around as he poked it, making an innocent chirping sound.
Damian seemed to find it amusing, so he simply held it in his hands and watched it try its best to imitate his gloves, but could only produce a pair of soft, black paw pads.
Bruce watched this scene, looking at his son who was showing a bit of boyishness because of an alien pet, and he recalled the conversation between Thor and Alfred.
Pain. Happiness.
Batman. Bruce Wayne.
Selene.
He remained silent for a long, very long time.
Finally, as if he had made up his mind, his gaze became incredibly firm.