With a gesture, he signaled for everyone to start eating, now that the plates of food were all laid out.
They dug in, humming with satisfaction at every bite, savoring the simple yet delicious al. Perhaps it was precisely the simplicity that made it so delightful, but they didn't bother thinking of that; their minds too busy relaxing, a very contradictory but true statent. Not long after, when all the plates were licked clean, did the family talk again.
Laura and Lily were asking Ragnar a bunch of questions, ever curious about Emir's new brother, his stories never-ending.
But eventually, the younger of them unknowingly stepped on a landmine.
"By the way, how's your fiancée? She wants to divorce you yet?"
Usually, when faced with a question like this, Ragnar would've clapped back, but uncharacteristically, he slumped his body into the chair and sighed.
That caught the attention of Emir.
"What's up? Did your perverse soul finally get what it deserves?"
Ragnar let out a rough chuckle and explained:
"We fought... At first, it was the usual, 'Why can't I go with you? I want to et them too!' You know, all that jazz. The sa scenario you had with Evelyn, except that she's my fiancée!... I explained my reasons, but she kept repeating herself like a parrot."
Laura and Lily leaned in, eyes almost sparkling, enjoying the drama to the fullest.
"But then, when she got tired of repeating herself, she switched gears, complaining about her day at the frontline. And guess what?"
Before any of them could say anything, he continued:
"When I gave her a solution, she exploded, her built-up anger reaching its peak."
At those words, the room collectively slapped their foreheads in embarrassnt, cringing.
Even Lyra was embarrassed to be associated with him.
"What?!"
Emir spun towards the confused Ragnar and grabbed his shoulder.
"Understand this, you idiot. When won complain like that, they don't want your logic or 'bright' solutions. Most of them aren't clueless. She probably already knew how to solve her issue; she just wanted soone to listen. So, stop trying to be Mr. Fix-It and nod like a nervous student pretending to pay attention. Parrot her words, give her so comfort-show her you're actually listening. Only after she's had a chance to vent should you think about stepping in with advice. If she still doesn't want to address the problem and acts like a spoiled brat, then, yeah, slap her into shape-figuratively speaking, of course."
Lily stood up, clapping her hands enthusiastically as if giving a standing ovation, while Laura quietly nodded her head, a proud smile on her face.
"Teach Elijah that in one of your lessons! Kid thinks he's smarter than ."
Emir barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at his little sister.
'Oh, I bet he's living through hell trying to land a relationship with her.'
He knew Lily very well and could safely bet that Elijah was likely in the right; her incessant talking always made things more difficult than they had to be.
"When the hell did you beco such an expert? And besides, that shit sounds so exhausting."
Glancing at Ragnar, Emir shrugged his shoulders.
"True, but why do you think I've got Ly around? She's even more logical than ..."
His thoughts completed his true feelings on the matter.
'Recently, that dynamic is slowly changing but it ain't much of an issue, at least not yet, and hopefully never, but I won't bet on that; sentience is human.'
Lyra perked up at hearing her na, raising her chest with a proud declaration:
"That's right, I'm the best fit for Emir."
No one comnted on that; they all saw it as a fact.
There truly was no one better for Emir.
The only unfortunate thing was that he himself was still unable to reciprocate those feelings.
He was inching closer to that outco, sure, but it was still far, incredibly far, and at the finish line, he could see a massive chasm that required an event of similar magnitude for him to cross.
That was only natural given that he had experienced a lie of such magnitude, which forever shook any semblance of trust he had in everyone, even those holding the highest positions within the three categories of people in his mind: allies.
"Anyways... Just go apologize. Like how she always complains, she also always forgives you."
Emir naturally switched the subject away from his love life and turned to his mother, bringing up sothing they ntioned not so long ago.
"Mom, how's the morization going? Do you rember anything of Isaac's face?"
Closing her eyes for a mont, she humd and then opened them back up.
"...His hair is black, I think."
Emir's calm smile widened.
"That's right, looks like your ntal fortitude training is going well."
The last ti she was asked this question she rembered nothing; his face appeared as a blur in her mind, so her answer showed visible progress, exciting him.
"I saw that too~."
Lily was the sa, and that was to be expected since they were both taught by Lyra. Their
course one.
"Good good, so do you think you can handle what I'm about to reveal?"
Without a mont's hesitation, all three, starting with Ragnar, agreed.
"Lay it on , I've been waiting on this for three weeks!"
"Yep~, I'll be fine, can't have an existential crisis when I already did two years ago."
"Mama will always listen to what you have to say, dear."
He pushed both his hands down on the table and stood up, his smile disappearing.
"Three weeks ago, I got involved in a eting of powerhouses."
Emir slowly looked at their faces while speaking.
"I was invited by one of the connections of the very sa Primordial that visited when I was born. Back then, you didn't know 'Their' title, but now I'm sure that 'She' is called the
Lady of Ti."
Their reactions were nearly uniform-blank faces, unsure of how to respond.
"The leader of that gathering is one of the ten eyes that you witnessed on the day of my ascension. He likely holds a high position among the nine, previously ten, ancient clans, or he might be a leader himself."
They remained still, unconsciously holding their breath.
"His mbers are as strong as Amon, maybe even stronger-I'm not sure. But their leader is a Demi-God, an Angel, a Paragon, a man that can wipe out our solar system with a single
thought."
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