Ace's completely forgotten about breathing after what Cyrus just uttered. He had never regretted anything this much in his life before then taking out that dumb bird without any prior preparation.
The little one was too naïve, and when he got permission to talk in front of Eva, he instantly took her for Winter, who he had never met before.
But he only heard from Freya that she was also a member of Ace's crew to save them from any misunderstanding in the future, like what happened in the past when Freya and Noa were instantly suppressed by Cyrus.
However, who would've thought the little guy would create such a situation for Ace, which he was avoiding all this time?
Ace would've naturally explained to Eva about the Thief House but not like this, and now it was too late.
Eva's charming smile instantly froze as her eyes were affixed on the spot where Cyrus had vanished.
She suddenly turned her eyes on Ace's somewhat ashen face before the temperature of the entire space started to drop at an astronomical rate as her eyes filled with murderous intent, locked on Ace.
She only uttered three words in an icy irrefutable tone, "Take him out!"
Ace had only one thought right now, 'I'm so dead!'
He quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Dear, let me explain it is not what you think it is…"
"Then let's hear it from Cyrus. If there's nothing wrong, you should've had anything to fear, right? But from your action, I'm started to have a wrong idea!" Eva's suddenly smiled, which was not like her gentle smile at all but the smile of a devil who was about to torture someone!
Ace didn't budge because he knew things would turn worse if that dumb guy spoke about something he didn't understand.
So, he quickly used every bit of skill he had and said, "Let me explain it first, and you can conform it with Cyrus as much as you want. I won't stop it. I have never been unfaithful toward you while you were asleep, and that ring is the proof of it!"
Eva squinted her eyes as her cold expression softened somewhat, especially when Ace mentioned the Ring of Endearment. This was really ironclad proof that he truly loved her.
So, she gave him a chance, "I'll give you a chance, but if you hide anything… humph, don't even think about touching me or talking to me!"
Ace was instantly elated, as if he got another lifeline, and for the first time, he was glad Eva formed that Ring despite the danger involved in it.
"I wanted to tell you about this in some more appropriate manner and had no intention of hiding it in the first place.
"But since things had already escalated in this way, maybe this is for the best that I explain everything to you from the start and what kind of places I've been into in these fifteen years when you were asleep.
"You can judge for yourself that what I did and for I did was purely to preserve my life as well as to achieve my goals which led me to this place…"
Ace sighed before he waved his sleeve, and a big couch with a jade table and two wine glasses appeared in front of them.
"Please sit. It might take some time to explain everything, so we might as well enjoy ourselves." He said, and without waiting for Eva's reply, he sat down on a side while a storage flask filled with the highest quality wine appeared in his hand as he filled the two glasses.
Eva's squinted her eyes as her eyes were locked on Ace. She wanted to see through his lies but didn't detect anything yet.
So, she felt somewhat assured of his words and sat down on the other corner of the couch while coldly uttering, "You better not be thinking of getting me drunk and then tricking me!"
"I would never." Ace hurriedly denied it as he offered her a glass of ruby-colored wine.
Eva gracefully received it, but her scrutinized gaze never left Ace, "Now, start talking!"
Ace nodded before he thought about something and then placed his hands on the table, and the next moment, Cyrus appeared again.
"Hey, why you sent me back?" Cyrus instantly started whining.
Ace gave him a fierce glance and said, "Dumb brat, you might as well listen to your Big Bro story and develop some common sense, or someday you might get me killed."
Eva was also startled when she saw Ace taking out Cyrus without even telling her anything.
"Ah, why would I get you killed? I'll burn everything who wants to harm you!" Cyrus instantly declared.
Ace then looked at Eva and transmitted in her mind, "See this? He is just like a two-year-old kid who doesn't even know common sense and only wants to burn the entire world down.
"As for why I took him out, even he didn't know from where his 'Big Sisters' came from or what kind of relationship they had with me. I can even confirm it right now."
Ace then looked at Cyrus and pointed at Eva, and said, "Little Brat, this is not Winter but Eva, and she is my Wife."
Cyrus's tiny eyes instantly winded when he heard it and looked at Eva, who was now looking at him with this soft glance.
"She is your wife?" He exclaimed before he turned confused, "Um… Bro, what is a wife? Is she like Friend or Best Friend?" He innocently asked.
Eva's eyes winded ever so slightly since it just confirmed Ace's statement. Cyrus was really like a small child who didn't even know the difference between Friend and Wife.
The coldness in her eyes vanished by half, but this didn't mean Ace was off the hook since Friends could have many meanings, and Cyrus naturally didn't know about it either.
Still, Ace wasn't the one who let such a chance slip by and quickly said, "From now on, you will learn with your Big Sister Eva, and she will live with you in our home for some time. You have to be respectful to her."
Cyrus was instantly happy and asked in disbelief, "Really?"
Ace then looked at Eva with a meaningful smile. Eva then softly looked at Cyrus. She was no longer angry or hostile toward the little naïve bird.
She replied gently, "I'll teach you everything, but you need to tell me about your Big Bro without hiding anything, especially your other Big Sisters!"
Cyrus agreed without hesitation, "Alright!"
Ace gave the little fellow a side eye since he didn't even ask for his opinion and even wanted to scold him through his thought transmission but didn't since it didn't matter anymore.
"Now that this is out of the way, I'll tell you how I meet with Noa, Freya, and Winter. I have to start from how I got teleported into the demon continent first…"
Ace then starts to tell Eva from the start, after she got sealed away, from his journey to the low-level lands to middle-level lands, the rise of the Sky Stealer.
His near-death encounter with Gordon at Treasure Mountain and then how he teleported randomly to the Demon Continent and met Noa.
Ace naturally omitted the part about System and changed it with the mysterious god behind him and making him the villain who forced him into creating the Thief House.
He also didn't tell Eva about the part where he, himself, wanted to recruit All-Knowing Parrot into the Thief House and only revealed how Freya was the one who had ill intentions and he had no choice but to trick her into the Thief House as well.
Lastly, the part about the Winter and Corpse Army was really a huge coincidence.
Afterward, he revealed his adventure in the demon continent and nearly destroyed their entire reputation with his Life Demon Treasure Pagoda Theft, Life Demon Auction Heist, and all the way toward his last biggest thievery of the Demon Temple.
Time seems to pass at an extremely fast pace while Ace recollects the memories of his past fifteen years. Even he was somewhat in disbelief that he had done all that with his meager strength while he had unknowingly started to drink from the storage flask.
He got a strange sense of relief and peace as he told Eva and Cyrus about his adventures. It was an entirely new experience for him to not always be on edge and lie to others about himself.
Perhaps, being an open book wasn't a bad thing at all, especially toward his loved ones and people he trusts. This was a lesson that can never be stolen from anyone's memories. It was a feeling and experience one had to go through oneself.
"… I think that commotion caused by my breakthrough bought that Giant Demon from the Imperial Family to my tail, and he had some kind of device that can trace the space teleportation…!"