Xarion jerked his chin toward Vangar and gave Vincent a brief rundown of what had just happened—the disastrous knife work, the charred meat, the whole spectacle.

When he finished, he snorted lightly.

"I’m not dealing with someone that stupid. I’m going to stay with Female Master."

With that, Xarion turned on his heel and walked off without another glance.

Damn it...

He frowned to himself as he left. For a split second just now, he’d actually thought Vangar looked a little pitiful.

Ridiculous. That had to be an illusion. Definitely an illusion.

Vincent watched Xarion’s retreating figure, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He’d asked Xarion to test Vangar—not to verbally dismantle him like that.

"...Marshal." Vincent turned to Vangar, forcing himself to speak. "Xarion’s always like this. Don’t take it to heart. I’ll talk to him properly later."

Vangar lifted his eyes and glanced at him. He was his chosen successor. Did he not know exactly what kind of person Vincent was?

What Vangar hadn’t expected... Was that Vincent would choose to test him in this way.

Heh. Just you wait.

Without another word, Vangar bent down, picked up the blackened skewer from the ground—and began eating it, bite by bite.

Vincent froze.

"Marshal!" He instinctively tried to stop him, but Vangar ignored him.

Even though the meat was coated in dust, bitter and burnt, he ate it slowly, methodically, until not a single piece remained.

Only then did he speak. "You don’t need to scold Xarion. It’s my fault for being useless. I can’t even manage something as simple as grilling."

There was no anger in his tone—only a quiet, restrained frustration. Because he meant it.

It was just grilling, something so simple. Every male in the household could do it well. Yet he couldn’t. Some of Xarion’s insults... weren’t entirely wrong.

Vincent watched his calm expression, and his eyelid twitched sharply.

This is bad.

He and Xarion were definitely going to pay for this later.

After a brief pause, Vincent said, "Cooking takes a certain talent. It’s fine if you’re not good at it, Marshal."

"I’ll learn." Vangar’s voice was firm, almost stubborn.

He would learn. He refused to be worse than the others in this house. He wouldn’t let his Female Master think less of him.

With that, he grabbed several skewers of prepared meat and placed them over the fire again, focusing intently as he began turning them.

Then, as if recalling something, he spoke without looking up, "By the way, Vincent. After tomorrow’s spar, I have a task for you."

Vincent was speechless.

...What? Was this guy already planning revenge?

"What kind of task?" Vincent asked cautiously.

The outer territories were peaceful at the moment, no insectoid disturbances. He had just returned and planned to spend time with Female Master. So what exactly did Vangar intend to assign him?

"You’ll find out tomorrow." Vangar’s tone was calm as he replied.

Vincent frowned. Vangar was absolutely doing this on purpose.

Behind them, Rory reached out and gave Xarion’s waist a sharp pinch.

"You went way too far just now. Aren’t you worried he might actually lose control and fight you?"

Vangar was Rank Twelve.

If it came to blows, Xarion would be the one at a disadvantage.

"He won’t touch me." Xarion rubbed the spot she’d pinched.

She hadn’t held back much—but to him, it barely hurt.

If anything... It felt kind of nice.

Taking advantage of the moment, he caught her hand and guided it to the other side of his waist.

"Female Master, this side too."

Rory’s eyebrows shot up.

Oh, so now he was treating this like a reward?

She tried to pull her hand back, but Xarion only tightened his grip.

Guiding her palm lower, he pressed it against the firm lines of his abdomen. Heat seeped through the thin fabric beneath her hand.

"Female Master..."

Xarion bent closer, his voice low and intimate, threaded with a lazy rasp that sounded dangerously seductive—like some beautiful creature tempting people into ruin.

"Twist it again. I like it."

Rory had absolutely no resistance against him when he acted like this.

Face burning, she gave his waist a token pinch.

"Alright, enough. Get up already."

There were so many people around. She still needed to maintain some dignity.

The tips of Rory’s ears burned hot as she tried to pull free again, but Xarion refused to let go.

Completely dissatisfied with that weak little pinch, he lowered his head and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

His cool breath brushed against her sensitive skin, sending a shiver racing down her spine in tingling waves.

"Female Master..." His lips grazed faintly against the side of her neck as he spoke in a husky, coaxing whisper. "Just once more... A little harder..."

Nearby, Paros, Wen, and Yuel all appeared focused on their own tasks. Even Vincent and Vangar in the distance seemed occupied.

And yet Rory could clearly feel it—those subtle, drifting gazes quietly landing on them.

Her face instantly grew even hotter. The heat spread from her ears all the way down her neck, red enough to look like it might bleed color.

But Xarion still had no intention of stopping. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Female Master, I’ve been suffering outside all this time—sleeping rough, exhausted every day..."

He nuzzled deeper against her neck, rubbing affectionately against her skin with the tip of his nose.

"You can treat it as a reward for me, alright?"

His aggrieved tone and shamelessly spoiled behavior struck directly at Rory’s weak point.

Completely helpless against him, Rory finally snapped.

Fine. You want a reward?

Grinding her teeth, she gathered strength into her fingers and viciously pinched the soft flesh at his waist.

"Mm—!"

Xarion sucked in a sharp breath instantly. Then a low, uncontrolled sound escaped his throat—trembling and dangerously suggestive.

Amid the crackling sound of sizzling meat, it sounded unbelievably ambiguous.

Rory’s mind exploded with a loud buzz.

Almost instinctively, she slapped a hand over his mouth.

Oh my god! This is not a bedroom!

Yuel and the others were all right there watching!

How could he make that kind of sound?!

Rory felt like she was losing her mind.

She pressed her hand tightly over Xarion’s mouth, terrified he might make another strange noise.

Xarion didn’t resist. Instead, he simply lifted those beautiful silver-gray eyes toward her innocently, blinking slowly beneath long lashes...

Then suddenly, Rory felt something warm and soft brush against her palm.

The sensation vanished in an instant, fleeting and teasing, almost like an accidental touch.

Rory stared at him in shock and yanked her hand back as though she’d been burned.

He actually... What exactly had this man gone out to do these past few days?

Was he rescuing people or secretly attending seduction training classes?!

How had he become this skilled after coming back?!

Rory genuinely felt like she was about to go insane. And just as she was desperately wishing for a hole to crawl into, Yuel’s calm voice drifted over.

"Xarion, come help here."

Yuel sat by the grill, quietly turning the meat with complete composure, as if he hadn’t noticed anything at all.

The moment he heard him, Xarion immediately released Rory.

"Coming."

He knew Rory was thin-skinned. If he pushed any further, she would really get angry.

Standing up, Xarion looked at her with an ingratiating smile.

"Female Master, I’ll grill meat for you."

Rory glared at him, too embarrassed to even speak.

Seeing her flustered expression, Xarion quickly pulled out two spatial rings and placed them into her hands.

"Female Master, these are the spoils I earned on this mission."