The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 283: You Know Who

Lane stood frozen, just staring at the phone, until it stopped ringing. What came next was a ping, as Lane received a new message, followed by silence. If Lane didn’t pick up twice in a row, then Miles naturally wouldn’t foolishly try again right away, since it could be that Lane wasn’t by his phone. He would probably try again half an hour later or so, if he had the time, and Lane hadn’t responded to his message.

He heaved a heavy sigh, and picked up the phone to check the message.

[We need to talk. Contact me as soon as possible.]

...Naturally, Lane didn’t. He just turned off the screen, stuffed the phone in his pocket, and returned to the table.

"You know who," he responded to Damien’s questioning gaze, and downed the glass of wine in a few gulps. It wasn’t really his choice of drink, but Damien’s sisters apparently liked it, so they decided to serve it with the dinner. After all, Damien was still too new to alcohol to have any defined preferences, and as for Lane... Naturally, what he liked the most were sweet, sugary cocktails. Or beer when he was at home, since he was too lazy to even attempt to mix drinks on his own. But he wasn’t picky, both when it came to the food or drinks, so he didn’t mind Damien catering this dinner to his sisters. It was all delicious anyway.

He put down his glass, and was about to pour himself another one, when he noticed that Damien furrowed his brows, question marks popping above his head. It seemed Lane’s ’you know who’ response wasn’t all that good, since Damien didn’t know who!

Or at least wasn’t sure. But he was sharp, so he took a guess, "Your father?"

Trying to look nonchalant, Lane shrugged his shoulders. "Well, yeah."

But it was a mistake to mention it at the table, as Clara immediately picked up on that, finally finding new ammunition to continue her verbal attack. "You don’t get along with your father?"

Lane threw her an annoyed glance. "As you can see."

"Wow... I guess I should have expected it," she scoffed, shaking her head. "Your parents must be very disappointed, having a son like yourself... If I were your mother, I would never be able to get over the shame..."

"Clara!" Damien interrupted, his face darkened with a deep frown. "You’re taking it too far!"

Clara couldn’t help but flinch at his raised voice. She wasn’t used to Damien ever speaking to her like that... Or to anyone, really. He had always been so composed, not getting angry even when she or some of their other siblings had done something wrong...

"This really isn’t something you should be saying," Eloise joined in. Although she was also a bit startled by Damien’s intense reaction... To be honest, Clara deserved that. Even if Damien were to full on yell at her, it still would be somewhat understandable. After all, "You shouldn’t say something like that to anyone. Especially when you don’t even know his circumstances. You should apologize..."

A short, mirthless chuckle escaped Lane’s throat. "I don’t care for her apology. I just want to ask her one thing." He leaned over the table, narrowing his eyes as he focused his gaze on Clara. "Do you get along with your father?"

Clara’s eyes widened. For a moment, she was stunned speechless, deeply offended that Lane even had the gall to ask that. "...You don’t even know what you’re asking."

"I know PRECISELY what I’m asking. Damien had already told me all about him. Which is why I asked you something like that in the first place."

"...Are you trying to mock me or something? Are you not aware that whatever you say to me in regards to him also applies to Damien?"

"You still don’t get my point, do you?" Lane shook his head with someone denser than... The densest substance in the universe, although Lane had no idea what that might have been. But even a wall would have seen more responsive. "My point is that not all parents are good parents."

Clara pondered over it for a moment. What Lane said made sense... And she didn’t know anything about Lane’s background, aside from the fact that he came from a rich family, moved out as a teen, and then received a lot of money from his parents as a part of some sort of mysterious deal. Perhaps his life hadn’t been as easy as she had thought...

But he still couldn’t hold back her tongue, and muttered, "Well, they couldn’t have been good, since they have raised a mistake of a human being such as you."

She was collectively ignored by the rest of the people gathered around the table, as Eloise and Samantha were exasperated to the point that they were completely drained of all their strength, while Damien had moved on to a more important issue.

"It’s about the deal, isn’t it?"

"Well, probably," Lane shrugged his shoulders. "The message only stated that we need to talk, but I guess that video message from Diana must have reached them by now. She said she would try to get it done quickly, after all."

"So what now?"

"I will have to go pay them a visit, I guess..."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Damien suggested.

"There’s no..." Lane was about to refuse, but then his eyes suddenly lit up, as an idea hit him. "Actually, that sounds great!"

It would be nice to see his parents’ faces as he brought Damien home, introducing him as his boyfriend. Especially after their failed attempts to match him up with Nyla, and then refusing Lane when he offered himself as a potential partner for Damien in an arranged marriage...

He pulled out his phone, and messaged his father. [When and where?]

In just a matter of minutes, he got the response. [8 PM. Give me your address so that the driver can pick you up.]

[No need. I can find my way to the mansion by myself.]