Chapter 218: Jealous? Not Really

Lowering her head and seeing the extended hand, Alea raised her right hand to shake his hand, only to find Theo's hand was the one shaking her hand.

"Theo?" Alea's eyebrows raised in surprise before she slightly felt embarrassed, misunderstanding his intention. Even though it was just a handshake, she thought Theo was jealous seeing her shaking hands with a guy. She thought, 'Eh? Why? Theo is jealous? But how can? He never shows anything like this before? Is this really the cold Theo?'

When she looked him in the eyes, Theo only smiled at her, shook her hand, and gently pushed her back. "If you want a handshake, there's me."

Alea dropped her jaw, unable to speak. She was completely speechless by Theo's action. Even the others opened their mouths in shock as if they just saw a ghost. Theo would never do something like this, or they might have actually been fooled by Theo.

He might just play hard to get this whole time and use the camera to broadcast to the world that Alea is his.

Even Alea couldn't help but feel nervous. 'Wait, wait. What is this? I have never expected something like this. Wait a minute, why was my dad that kind to him back in the hospital as if he wanted him to stay? Why was grandpa giving Theo the contract for the use of the family's artificial nest? Don't tell me… They've been doing something behind my back?'

Unfortunately for all of them, Theo released her hand and turned around, smiling at Hengki. "I am sorry if it's rude, but I can't help but do it in order to protect my teammates."

Hengki was confused for a moment as his hand flinched, feeling no hand to shake. He raised his hand and looked at Theo, raising both his hands as if telling him something.

"If I were you, I would have done something in the handshake. For example, curse or poison, so I hope you can understand why I am worried. It's not ethical, but it doesn't break the rule… This is a huge competition and everyone is dying to win, so I hope you can understand." Theo smiled and explained the situation.

"…" Hengki gulped down as he took a step back with a smile on his face. He then gently joined his hands together in front of his chest and slightly bowed his head. It was the traditional way of greeting in Indonesia. He said, "I understand. I'm sorry to make you worry. I thought about greeting you since we were going to compete, but I guess it could be seen that way. I apologize."

"No problem." Theo smiled, placed his hand on the chest, politely bowed his head like a gentleman greeting unless he didn't have any hat to hold. "I would like to apologize as well for my earlier rudeness."

Ellen and the others were bewildered when they realized they misunderstood Theo once again. In the Fighter Temple, they had Magic Warrior that might be able to inflict a delayed Skill. In the Magic Temple, they had Magician, Enchanter, or Healer that could check their body condition or do something without anyone noticing. In the Assassin Temple, Assassins or Illusionists could put something in their body such as poison, curse, or even illusion that could be activated later.

With a Blessing, especially coming from the people of the past, it became scarier because the legend was far more ruthless than their current way of living. They covered many curses, poisons, and other things to make their enemy in misery.

That was why Theo refused to have a handshake with them. He just wanted to protect his teammate, not showing his jealousy.

Alea's heart beat rapidly for an unknown reason. It was the same as when he told them that marrying her was the last thing he wanted to do. She still had her pride since she took care of her appearance all the time and had confidence that she was beautiful. That was why disappointment, pain, and anger filled her heart.

She couldn't help but pout and look away.

On the contrary, Hengki introduced himself again. "As I said earlier, my name is Hengki. I've noticed that you're the real leader of this group. May I know your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Hengki. I'm Theodore, Theodore Griffith."

Hengki nodded and pointed at his teammates. "They are my teammates. You can call the red-haired girl Ratu Ayu. The one beside her, the muscular guy, is Gunardi. And the one next to me is Yuda Kusuma. Those two who can't move are Nicko and Dewi. I start to become curious about your team, especially when all six of you actually took the right path in the first layer."

"Haha, we're nothing. In the end, we can't even take first place." Theo smiled and introduced themselves. "They're my teammates. From the left, they are Sihan, Phyrill, Ellen, Alea, and Laust. We're just a small team from a small country."

"Ahaha, you're too modest. We won't pull our punch in the next round." He smiled, joined his hands, and bowed again. "Then, please excuse us."

Theo nodded politely and took a step back.

After they left, Ellen's hand circled Theo's neck as she poked his cheek. "You little… I thought you were jealous."

Theo didn't say anything because no matter what he said, misunderstandings would follow. Hence, he simply shrugged his shoulders while turning around, walking to another corner.

On the other hand, Hengki's face turned serious after he regrouped with the other two. He came to realize that Theo was more dangerous than they thought.

"That group is indeed a dark horse." Hengki shook his head helplessly. He couldn't understand what Theo was thinking even a little bit.

"Is he really that dangerous?" Yuda crossed his arms and frowned.

Hengki came closer to him and whispered to his ears. "I need you to take special care of him. Watch his every move for me because he may be more dangerous than that guy."

Hengki glanced at the long-haired male from the Australia Team. He thought this guy was his main competitor, but he might be wrong after seeing Theo's reaction.

"In any case, there is no change in our plan."