Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 90 - Cover Story

Previously:

Rhur comes looking for Venric Rroda. He tells Venric that he ran into Kiel inside the Black Pearl restaurant. Venric is furious because Rhur didn't catch Kiel when he had the opportunity to do so. Rhur wasn't aware that Venric had been looking for Kiel, and had unknowingly let him escape.

* * *

Rhur gulped silently, a crystalline bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. Perhaps now would be a bad time to ask for more money?

The silence descended onto the room once again.

Rhur pulled his shirt back up, hiding his revealed skin, and then proceeded to sit as still as a statue, waiting for Venric to allow him to speak, or to shoo him out. Preferably the second option. He had no desire to converse with his grandfather when he was in such a foul mood.

The next several minutes felt like hours. Although the temperature inside the room was cold, Rhur's back had long become drenched with sweat.

One could say that Rhur's grandfather "doted" on him. However, Venric's definition of "doting" wasn't the same as any other person's definition of doting.

Venric was in no way loving or forgiving towards Rhur Rroda. He only restrained his temper more than with other people. He was also more lenient when giving out punishments and allowed Rhur a larger freedom of speech.

Finally, Venric Rroda broke the silence: "Why did you come to see me?"

The solemn, cold gaze expressed that saying "Oh, I just wanted to gossip about my little brother's romantic endeavors." wouldn't be an acceptable response.

Rhur gulped, his throat suddenly feeling dry. "Ah... you see...you could say that..."

"Out with it!" Venric snapped.

"I got swindled..." Rhur spoke out in a weak voice, uncharacteristic for him. Yet even that weak voice carried a special type of allure.

Venric's eyes flashed dangerously, and he growled out. "Who dares swindle a son of the Rroda family?!"

Rhur coughed dryly, fidgeting in his seat a bit, before finally, briefly explaining what happened. Of course, his explanation glorified himself as a saint who was unjustly plotted against by his evil younger brother.

When he finished his explanation, silence descended onto the room once again.

The only movement in the room came from the violent twitch of Venric's eyebrow.

Finally, Venric covered his face with his palm, looking as if he wanted to face-palm himself but barely managed to restrain it for it would not be an appropriate thing to do for a noble.

"How much did you say it cost?"

Rhur smiled wryly and repeated the staggering number, after which, silence once again descended onto the room.

This time, the silence lasted even longer than the previous silence.

"Rhur... Take this as a valuable lesson. As the future head, you need to learn how to deal with such situations on your own."

Rhur jumped at the chance to show his obedience. "I understand." He chirped with fake gratefulness for the advice.

Rhur waited for Venric to continue, but Venric waved his hand, telling him to get out. Rhur finally couldn't restrain himself and the question that he had wanted to ask all along burst out: "About the next month's allowance..."

Before he could finish a sharp "No!" interrupted him.

"But the tab..." Black Pearl didn't even allow people to have tabs. The only reason why they made an exception for him was because he was a VIP customer who came to Black Pearl almost every day. Naturally, he had to take care of the debt as soon as possible.