“I did see that movie he was in,” Hildred remarked with a nonchalant shrug.

“That’s only because I made all of you watch it,” Wulfric replied. “Just promise me you won’t pull your usual tricks on Aster, alright?”

“What? I’m always on my best behavior,” Hildred protested, feigning offense. He then turned to Edmund, seeking support. “Right, Ed?”

Instead of answering, Edmund glanced between Hildred and Wulfric, his eyes darting nervously. He lowered his gaze and stammered, “I- I have no opinion!”

Seeing that, Slade laughed out loud. “Hey Hil, stop teasing poor Ed so much. This is the reason why, up until now, you still couldn’t get what you want.”

Hildred turned to Slade with a sly, almost feral grin. “And what makes you so sure this isn’t exactly what I want?” Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Slade smirked in response. “Then you’re quite the sadist, aren’t you?”

Hildred only smiled sweetly as an answer.

Edmund tilted his head, not understanding the conversation between the two. Meanwhile, Wulfric only sighed.

“Just try to behave for the duration of this journey,” Wulfric addressed the three captains, his tone firm. “I’m not just talking to Hildred—this goes for all of you. Cause me any trouble, and I’ll make sure you spend a month on a mining planet.”

Edmund visibly shivered after hearing that. As if the thought of spending a month on a mining planet had given him goosebumps. On the other hand, Slade just lazily nodded.

And Hildred, well, being Hildred, he instead asked, “Can you provide a list of what kind of ‘trouble’ we need to avoid doing?”

Wulfric turned to the other. He knew that Hildred was definitely just being his annoying, playful self, but he decided to play along because that way, it would save him the trouble of having to remind them what they should and shouldn’t do.

“Just don’t do anything that could make this journey uncomfortable for Aster. And above all, don’t do anything that would tarnish Aster’s opinion of me,” he said, placing particular emphasis on the last part.

Edmund nodded enthusiastically, showing that he agreed.

“Captain, this Aster really has quite the hold on you, doesn’t he?” Slade remarked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re not allowed to call him ‘Aster’,” Wulfric warned. Then, with a satisfied smile and a hint of pride in his eyes, he added, “And yes, he has me in a chokehold.”

Hildred laughed. “You’re a lost cost, Wulf.”

—–

Reas looked ahead as he followed Astrid and the kid. More specifically, it was the kid leading them by pulling Astrid along. Since Nicol was the only one who knew where the lounge area was, they had no choice but to follow along.

They would meet the other members of the Grimaldi family once they reached the lounge area, which meant Reas would finally meet his grandfather. He felt neither excited nor nervous about it. In truth, he wasn’t sure exactly what to feel.

Considering everything, his feelings for the other weren’t entirely positive. But they weren’t entirely negative either. Truth be told, the negative outweighed the positive, leaving him unsure of how to interact with the duke.

Nevertheless, he decided to play it cool. Getting emotional wouldn’t do him any good. Keeping a level head in this situation was always the right choice.

And so, they finally arrived at the lounge area.

The three Grimaldi men were sitting in different spots in the spaceship’s lounge. The duke was seated in a plush armchair near the large viewing window, gazing out. Thomas sat upright on a sleek, modern sofa in the center of the room, intently focused on his Terminal. Casey, meanwhile, perched on a bar stool at the corner counter, idly stirring a drink.

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When they entered, all their actions stopped and they all turned simultaneouly in their direction.

“Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, I brought Brother Aster,” Nicol announced. Then, as if suddenly recalling his other cousin, he added, “And Brother Andreas too.”

Casey stood up and quickly made his way toward them. “Look at this, all my beautiful nephews standing together. Wait- I’ll just quickly take a picture.”

Then he opened his Terminal and took one.

Reas tried to appear nonchalant, but his brows furrowed slightly. As he turned his head to the side, his gaze met the duke’s. He couldn’t decipher the emotions there, but it seemed like the duke was staring intently at him?

Thomas also walked towards them. “Astrid, Reas. I trust you had a safe journey.”

“It’s uneventful,” Astrid replied. “I hope your journey here is also uneventful.”

He was implying that he hoped no one had noticed them travelling here.

“It’s the same for me. I actually almost fell asleep on the way here,” Casey said.

Thomas nodded, silently indicating that he and Nicol also hadn’t encountered any problems on their way here.

As they were all engrossed in conversation, they didn’t notice the Duke approaching. Well, except for Reas, who had been watching him from the corner of his eye. So, when the other suddenly appeared in front of them, he wasn’t too surprised.

The thing was, the Duke just stood there, like a lonely child wanting to join the circle of popular kids. Reas found himself getting annoyed by this, wondering why the Duke didn’t just speak up or join the conversation instead of hovering awkwardly like that.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Casey suddenly spoke up. “If you have something to say, just come over and say it.”

Casey’s remark made everyone turn their attention to the Duke.

The duke embarrassingly cleared his throat. Then, as if he finally decided on something, he stepped forward. Specifically, in front of Reas.

“Hello, Andreas. I am…” He paused, seeming to contemplate his next words. After a moment, he seemed to finally made a decision and then he looked straight at Reas and continued, “I’m your grandfather.”

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