The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 290: Catfish Chocolate

They were let off shortly after the dessert. Which Lane had skipped, after taking a bite, because it was a dark chocolate cake. Not that Lane necessarily DISLIKED dark chocolate, he wasn’t a picky eater and was alright with the taste, it was just that it was such a catfish of a chocolate. You saw it, thought, ’how nice, something sweet!’ only to get disappointed by its bitterness as soon as you put it in your mouth.

What was it if not a catfish? Such a misleading food item!

As expected of Allens, preparing such a bitter dessert when Lane was coming home. Not that it was necessarily done on purpose - Lane’s parents probably didn’t even remember his preferences, while the menu was likely prepared by the chef the day before, before he had even heard that ’Young Master’ would be coming home, so it should be nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence... But if Lane could have another reason to hate on the Allens, then he most certainly would, and he didn’t care how petty it was to complain about a bitter slice of cake.

Either way, the rest of the dinner passed by without any major incidents. It was mostly Miles talking about various dungeons they had and asking Damien about his work, while Catherine spoke about how many great high-ranking Guides they had. Naturally, that was all meant to entice both Damien, as well as Lane, to sign with them, but the two men were unmoved.

At the end, when they were on the way out, Catherine only pulled Lane to the side for a moment.

"Sign with us, if you know what’s good for you," she muttered in a low voice, keeping an eye on Damien, who was kept away by Miles, who busied him with a conversation. "Don’t mess around with the Association."

"Hmm... Nah, I’ll pass." Lane smiled in response.

Catherine furrowed her brows, giving him a cold glance, before turning her eyes back to the two men at the front, to make sure that Damien was still busy.

"You will regret it."

"Is that all you have to say?" Lane rolled his eyes, even though inwardly he was tense. No matter how powerful he was, if he were to go against the Allens right now, even with the secret organization’s full force... He wasn’t confident he’d win. Not to mention, his subordinates wouldn’t necessarily all follow him to hell if he asked them, some might ask for a proper, legitimate reason as to why they should. Explanation as to how this fight would help them on their way toward their goals...

"Lane?" Damien’s voice came from the front, instantly relieving him of most of the tension, as if some cork in him had been popped, allowing the negative emotions to flow out of his system. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, yes, one sec!" Lane exhaled, and turned back to his mother with a fake smile plastered all over his face. "Sorry not sorry, but my boyfriend’s calling me. It was so not nice to see you again, I hope you have a terrible evening."

Catherine just stared at him, cold and composed. "Just think it through," she warned.

"Just wait for the message from Diana," Lane answered back, before walking up to the front to catch up with Damien.

Miles walked them all the way to the front door, offering them a ride back, which Lane (im)politely refused. He pulled out his phone, quickly ordering the taxi, as the butler opened the tall door in front of them.

The sky was still bright outside, although the shadows were getting long. The cool evening breeze lifted their hair and tugged gently on their clothes, as they walked down the long drive connecting the mansion’s main entrance with the front gate, two guards trailing twenty or so feet behind them, because security reasons. Lane didn’t mind their presence, as long as they didn’t follow them home.

Which they didn’t. They turned around as soon as Lane and Damien stepped out of the Allens’ territory, and the gates closed behind them. At least Miles knew not to overstep it with Damien.

"Ah, now that felt refreshing!" Lane exhaled, stretching his back, as they stood on the side of the street, waiting for their taxi. It felt good to annoy his family. Of course, all that he had done during the dinner was nothing but some petty mischief, a far cry from a proper revenge, but it was nice to do at least this much after all those years of biding his time in silence. He could let out some steam...

And the looks on his parents’ and his grandfather’s faces were just priceless. When they gritted their teeth, barely containing their anger, while trying to keep their ’caring family’ facade in front of Damien... Lane barely held himself back from squealing with happiness! He didn’t even remember when was the last time he had seen them THIS furious! ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

He should write about it to Diana, tell her that he had followed in her footsteps, and started bringing destruction to the Allen family’s mansion! Sure, what he had destroyed so far was just one tabletop and a few plates, but you have to start somewhere! It wouldn’t do him any good to take things too far on his first attempt. Besides, whatever he destroyed, the Allens could just replace... It wouldn’t even make a dent in their massive bank account.

It was better to just ruin the whole mansion in one go, once it was finally time to bring the downfall of the Allen family. By then, there would be no one left to rebuild it. Except perhaps Nyla, but Lane doubted she would care enough to do it. It was unlikely she had many (if any) positive feelings toward that place as well.

Standing right by his side, Damien gave him a long look, before shaking his head with a sigh. He was originally going to reproach Lane a little for his improper behavior during the dinner - or for the time he had used his Wind Blade to ’help’ his mother cut her meat, to be precise - but seeing how happy the man was, he just couldn’t bear to ruin his mood. He just left any talk for later.

Their taxi arrived shortly after. Just as they got in, Lane’s phone pinged.

Nyla.

[Congratulations! And good luck on your exams!]

The corners of Lane’s lips lifted slightly. That was probably the only genuine congratulations he had received.