Chapter 398: Return to Haven [1]

Chapter 398: Return to Haven [1]



The moment the words left my mouth, the entire room changed.

It suddenly felt incredibly difficult to breathe.

'What's going on?'

Confused, I looked around. Evelyn was looking at me with wide eyes and open mouth. Leon was sitting with his eyes closed and hands pressed against his chest.

He looked like a corpse ready for burial.

'The hell is wrong with him?'

The Family Head was looking at me with the usual expression he always wo-No, though subtle, I could see subtle shifts in his expression.

He almost looked uncomfortable.

When I turned to Evelyn's father, I noticed that he wasn't looking at me but rather the white- haired man.

'Right, he must be the delegate from Central.'

I hadn't paid much attention to him since he didn't have much of a presence. He was quite handsome and looked to be in his twenties.

It was only now that I was taking a closer look at him that I noticed a weird change in his expression.

... Is he high ranking within Central?'

In all honesty, I didn't know too much about Central.

A lot of their information was rather sealed. Only key members knew the ins and outs of the place.

All I knew was that they were the organization in charge of putting the Megrail family in check.

But still...

There was something off about the situation.

Why...?

"Keum."

With a subtle cough, the Family Head gathered my attention once again.

"Julien."

His tone was somewhat soft.

Softer than I had ever heard him use before. It felt a little off-putting and made me realize just how wrong the situation was.

'Just what in-'

"Are you sure you want to be engaged with Miss Rosemberg? Do you understand the massive difference between the two of you? Not only in age but in power?"

"I do..."

I nodded hesitantly.

For some reason, it felt as though I was burying my own grave.

A thought occurred to me as I turned my head to face the white-haired man. All of a sudden, I was reminded of one key and crucial piece of information about Central.

About its current Head...

'Ah.'

My heart sank.

It couldn't be, right?

The Family Head extended his hand in the white-haired man's direction.

"Let me introduce you to Orson Rosemberg. The current Head of Central, and the adoptive father of the person you wish to be engaged with."

||

||

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Only tears.

....There were a lot of things that I wanted to do at this very moment, but couldn't. In the end,

the only choice I had was to seal my emotions.

Locks appeared in my mind as my mind cooled.

"I see."

Finally, I was able to get the words out as I stared at the man before me.

'So he's Delilah's father.'

I lowered my head to greet him.

"It's my pleasure to meet you."

My words were met with a strange silence.

When I lifted my head, a pair of deep eyes stared back at me. I felt my world slowly start to

crumble apart as I started to get sucked into his eyes.

However, strangely enough, I was able to remain calm.

.....I had experienced something similar before.

'Right, from Delilah...'

What I was currently experiencing was a milder version of what she had used against me.

"Oh?"

A change occurred to Orson's face as he looked at me. He seemed surprised by the fact that I

was able to resist his gaze.

"....Not bad."

He even threw a compliment at me.

I was a little taken aback by this but thanked him nonetheless.

"Thank you."

"Mhm."

He nodded faintly before leaning back on the chair.

"You're just like your father. You hardly show any changes to your expression in spite of the

situation that you're in."

No, not quite...

I had to seal my emotions to achieve this.

I had already died inside.

"....It runs in the family."

-Reject it.

There was no hesitation in Delilah's voice as she said such words.

Orson fully expected her to reply like that and wasn't mad about the fact that she had cut him

off.

"I already have."

-Oh, good.

Delilah nodded faintly. Then, suddenly lowering her head, she went out of frame for several

seconds before coming back.

Orson frowned immediately.

"Are you eating chocolate?"

-Uh?

Delilah's eyes widened.

She looked shocked.

How does he know?! She shook her head.

-Mnwo.

But she couldn't fool anyone. Her lips were covered in chocolate. Not only that, but her mouth

was also full.

Orson helplessly closed his eyes.

Her addiction was one of her biggest flaws.

He had tried many times to help her in the past, but it was all useless. He had even gone as far

as banning all places from selling to her, and yet... she still found ways to eat chocolate.

It was a problem that constantly left him with headaches.

'Whatever, I'm in a good mood today.'

"In any case, I only called you to tell you about the request. The offer wasn't even serious to

begin with. It was just a ruse by the two parties to stop their parents from engaging them

together." -Ah.

Delilah didn't appear all that interested.

She just nodded along with his words.

"But I do have to say, the two do make quite a good match. One is the daughter of the Verlice

family while the other is the firstborn of the Evenus fa- "

Thump!

A low thump echoed from the communication device. When Orson turned his head, he saw

Delilah looking at him with a blank look.

"...What happened?"

-Uh? Ah..

Delilah quickly snapped out of it and picked up whatever she dropped. It was chocolate.

-...I dropped this. "Righ-" Orson suddenly froze.

'Did she just drop her chocolate and then show it to me...?'

For as long as Orson had known Delilah, he had never seen her drop her chocolate bar. She

treated it as though it was her own baby.

No, not just that...

Ever since the ban, she had always hidden the bar away from him. Even when it was obvious

that she was eating one, she always kept it out of his sight and pretended like she didn't have

it.

'What is...'

-The... engagement. He asked?

"Ah, uh.. Yes."

Orson nodded faintly, unable to understand what was going on.

-Oh.

Thump!

A low thumping sound echoed once more.

Orson looked at the projection with a dazed expression.

"You dropped the chocolate?"

-Yes.

|| ||

He waited for her to pick it up.

...She never did.

Orson scratched his head.

'Is she sick...?'

But even when sick she...

-You rejected the engagement?

"...Yes."

-Okay.

Delilah nodded.

Then...

Click!

The call ended.

Orson sat in silence shortly after, staring at the empty space before him with a blank look. He

replayed the scene from before over and over again. However, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

In the end, he just stopped thinking.

He...

...felt that this was the best decision for his mental health.