novelraw Chapter 244: Curious fruit
Chapter 244: Curious fruit
A faint note of confusion threaded through his low voice.
"Little Fruit... what did you mean just now, saying Daddy Vincent isn’t capable?"
Nix was the first to react. He let out an awkward cough, scrambling to smooth things over.
"I wasn’t asking you. Be quiet." Vincent cut him off coldly, then continued, voice steady but unmistakably sharper, "Little Fruit. Tell me—what did you mean?"
He shot Yuel a frantic look for help.
In reality... even he was at a loss.
Anything he didn’t understand, he would ask out loud.
If Rory found out, he’d be the one in trouble.
He swayed slightly, the small leaf atop his head bobbing as he spoke in a soft, innocent voice, "But Daddy said it!"
Then, with pure curiosity, he asked, "Vincent Daddy... why does not being able to get up mean you’re not capable?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze solid.
"...I’m not capable?"
"Who said that? Step forward."
"Not me! I didn’t say anything!"
Yuel added smoothly, "Certainly not me. Vincent, after everything we’ve been through, you trust me... don’t you?"
"I never speak ill of others."
"Heh."
Even blindfolded, he felt as though he could see straight through every ounce of their guilt.
A dangerous smile curved at his lips.
His voice turned calm again—but far more ominous.
With that, he turned and walked toward the stairs.
Only the black silk tied behind his head swayed lightly with each movement—a quiet, almost ironic contrast to the storm brewing beneath.
Nix’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.
His face drained of color, despair written all over him.
The last time Vincent had come to "settle accounts" with him, he’d taken an entire batch of the latest mech models—along with a fleet of interstellar warships.
Every time he looked at them, his scalp prickled.
This time, he was afraid he’d have to hand over his entire research lab.
Leaning against the wall, he let out a long, helpless sigh.
But high-Rank fighters were already rare.
Almost nonexistent.
Now, with this added offense... That price was definitely going up.
Seeing the utter despair on Nix and Jasper’s faces, a thought flickered through his mind... Would Vincent... go complain to the Female Master?
How could he stop Vincent from reporting this?
...No.
So what now?
"Daddies... what’s wrong with all of you?"
At Nix and Jasper’s lifeless expressions...
His soft, childish voice was full of innocent curiosity.
Yuel pressed his fingers to his temple, clearly exasperated.
Last time, just for eavesdropping, Vincent had already come after them.
Yuel had already paid part of the debt.
At this rate... he’d pluck himself bald.
"Terry, next time you’re curious about something, don’t ask it out loud in front of everyone."
Just... please don’t sabotage us again.
The answer came quick and bright.
Yuel silently rolled his eyes.
Every time, the child agreed just as readily.
Yuel rose to his feet, gently touching the fruit on his head.
Terry froze in shock.
"Then consider it a debt," Yuel replied calmly. "You’ll repay it when you can."
"Daddy... I’m still just a baby..." He tried one last time, appealing to paternal affection.
"Hey, Yuel—why not have Terry cover my losses too?" Nix chimed in opportunistically. "My mechs and warships—he can reimburse those as well."
Terry: "..."
Should he... also pass his losses onto Terry?
Just as Jasper was about to speak, his communicator chimed.
"Enough." Jasper’s voice cut through the room.
The others immediately opened their devices.
"The Golden-Winged Roc clan... found a human female?!"
"And Sylas has already bonded with her... and is about to break into Rank Eleven."
Xarion glanced at them, unimpressed. "Why are you all so tense? That human female belongs to Sylas. What does it have to do with us?"
They didn’t need one to advance.
Nix frowned, looking at Xarion. "You’re not shocked at all? That’s a human female."
Xarion shrugged lazily.
If it had nothing to do with him, he simply didn’t care.