The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 286: Family Dinner pt.2 - the Allens’ Version [1]

All the eyes in the room turned to Damien. Even the servants’, who had been trying to stay low-key and just do their job until now. There was just something so serious in Damien’s low voice that demanded absolute attention, even though he had spoken at a normal volume, and his tone wasn’t particularly emotional, just serious.

"Team Leader Lennox?" Miles turned to him, taken aback by Damien’s sudden question. "Is there something wrong?"

But Damien wasn’t even looking at him, his eyes focused on Cyrus. "Mr. Allen, why are you using your ability on Lane?"

If the people gathered were surprised before, now they were truly in for a shock, only one question going on in their heads: ’How did he know?’

Miles was once again the first to react. "Team Leader Lennox, what are you talking about? I don’t know what Lane has told you, but-"

"Lane didn’t have to tell me anything," Damien interrupted Miles.

Damien. Interrupted.

Damien Lennox!

"I can tell that very well myself," Damien continued calmly, as if he hadn’t just done something inappropriate and out of character. "The moment we walked in, Mr. Allen’s eyes focused on Lane, and his wavelengths shifted, which implies that he had activated his ability. Not to mention, Lane’s reaction was also quite telling."

Once again, after Damien finished speaking, the room fell into silence, as even Miles, Cyrus, and Catherine, who were used to dealing with difficult situations on the spot, were momentarily stunned. Well, how could they not be? No one would have expected Damien to be able to pick up on that... After all, according to his records, he didn’t have any supporting ability, just his ice. And even if he were to suddenly develop one, he was still an S-ranker. He shouldn’t have been able to read an SS-ranker such as Cyrus so easily.

Even Lane was surprised. He had already seen how great Damien’s sensitivity was back when they had visited Diana, but still... Diana’s wavelengths were chaotic and fluctuating due to her state. With Cyrus, he had only used a part of his ability, since his intention was to intimidate Lane’s F-ranker’s ass, but without causing a scene. The change in his wavelengths must have been minimal, so much so that even most of the Guides wouldn’t pick up on it during a guiding session. To think Damien had been able to pick up on that...

Unless he was bluffing? Maybe Damien just saw Lane’s ’proudly resisting Dominance’ act, as well as Cyrus’ frown, and connected the dots? He already knew that Cyrus had used his ability on Lane multiple times before, so it was a safe guess. Lane couldn’t quite tell which option it was...

But he was very pleased either way. He could barely keep the twitching corners of his mouth down.

His boyfriend was the best.

Naturally, this silence only lasted for a moment, before Miles’, Catherine’s, and Cyrus’ eyes all turned to Lane, giving him a cold, warning glare.

"Don’t mind my son," Miles then said to Damien. "Lane likes to exaggerate. He’s one of whom you might call ’drama queens’..."

Which wasn’t even wrong, since Lane was putting on a show. And Damien knew it, but he still argued, "I believe that seems like an appropriate reaction to being subjected to Mr. Allen’s Domination." freewebnøvel.com

Miles’ eyes twitched. As if Lane wasn’t problematic enough on his own, now he even got himself a boyfriend to defend him? And Damien Lennox wasn’t someone Miles could just disregard! Well, technically he could, but that wouldn’t be the smartest move.

Thus, he glanced at Cyrus, hoping his father would step in to defend his actions.

And Cyrus did. "It was nothing more than a small test to see how much Lane had grown," he said. "It was hardly painful. Isn’t that right, Lane?" He focused his gaze on Lane once again, this time trying to intimidate the man with his presence and identity, rather than his ability.

Could that work, though? Well. Lane dropped his head, forcing a sad smile onto his face. "Whatever you say, Mr.... Grandfather..."

He looked so pathetic, like a boy who had been bullied by his elders into agreeing with anything they said, not in the slightest bit genuine. The Allens (with the exception of Nyla) had all gritted their teeth at this display, but they didn’t say anything. Rather than argue, it was better to just bury the topic and move on.

"I apologize for the scene," Miles turned to Damien again. "It was hardly an appropriate welcome. I hope that you will forgive us, and still dine with us?" He gestured at the table, filled with a selection of mouthwatering appetizers.

Naturally, no one bothered to apologize to Lane, and Damien didn’t fail to pick up on that. "I’m not the one you should be apologizing to," he said, but he moved to the table together with Lane, both of them taking a seat next to each other. He didn’t want to drag this conversation either. Not because he didn’t want to stand up for Lane, but rather thinking about what was still ahead of them... The conversation regarding Lane breaking the deal. Rather than wasting time on this pointless squabble - because it was pointless, considering that regardless of what Damien said, the Allens wouldn’t realize their wrongs anyway - it was better to save more energy for the upcoming dinner war.

Miles also took a seat, and the dinner finally started.

"So," this time, Catherine was the one to speak up first. "Team Leader Lennox. What brings you here with Lane?" she asked.

As if she hadn’t already heard Lane and Miles talk in the hallway, just a few steps away from the open dining room door. Yup, her A-rank Esper’s superior senses had suddenly malfunctioned.

It was nothing but an attempt to change the topic to something that didn’t include abusing Lane, but Lane took it, answering in Damien’s stead, "He’s here as my boyfriend."

"Oh, my!" Catherine feigned surprise, giving Nyla a look of fake concern. She didn’t bring her into the conversation though, since she had already obviously heard the earlier exchange, and instead she asked, "How did you two meet?"

"Don’t you know that already?" Lane quirked his brows, pushing one of the plates with the best appetizers (in his opinion, at least), Damien’s way to try. "We had a whole argument about it, after which I ended up locked in this mansion for a month or so. About how I allegedly broke our deal, showing up at the Association, and so on..."