Chapter 156: Family Meeting

Chapter 156: Family Meeting

“Ahem.”

The lavishly prepared food on the spacious dining table was comparable to that from a royal banquet.

Despite the fact that Byolren, the territory of the Bright Household, was relatively in the south, they still managed to prepare dishes made from precious ingredients like seafood from the western sea and fruits from the east.

The entire room was filled with a strange silence.

It was bound to happen eventually.

Originally, this was only meant to be a celebration of a family meeting between the Verdi and Bright Households.

However, out of nowhere, the meeting was interrupted by the Zeronia Household.

Although the Bright Household wanted to drive away the unwanted visitors, upon learning that Deus, who had initiated the event, was the one who invited them, they were unable to say anything.

With the term ‘family meeting’ having long lost its meaning, they wondered why they had to endure this awkward situation together.

"Hmm, it’s delicious."

Of course, amidst it all, there were those who weren’t swept away by the atmosphere.

Deia, for instance, appeared to be quite satisfied while enjoying the delicacies that were typically not found in Norseweden.

"Try this."

"I can eat by myself."

"If you could do so, you wouldn't have become so thin. Eat a lot while you're here."

Letting out a sigh, Deia glanced at Erica, who was sitting on the other side of the table.

"You should have taken better care of him while you were with him. He’s someone whose work is really important, so I'm worried he might collapse.”

Although Deia said it with a smile on her face, her words contained clear hostility. That alone was enough to bring down the temperature of the atmosphere even further.

"Forcing someone to eat will only stress them out. I'm fine with Deus just the way he is now. Even if he collapses, I'll be there to support him.

Upon Erica’s rather blatant response, Deia flinched slightly. She never expected Erica to openly express her affection for Deus like this.

"Erica has been taking good care of me. There is no need to worry."

Just like when she bought desserts the last time, she subtly expressed concern about me being too thin without forcing me directly. She simply bought the delicacies and brought them over to the laboratory.

Squeeze.

I could feel some weight and a stinging sensation on the top of my foot.

When I glanced at Deia, who was stepping on my foot, she put on a mask-like smile.

"Why?"

"...That is enough."

I didn't know why Deia was engaged in a war of nerves with Erica, but now was not the time for that.

I shifted my gaze towards the others.

Gideon and the Head of the Zeronia Household, Gilthea Zeronia’s mouths were twitching as if they were about to speak at any moment. However, they were unable to say a word because they felt like unwelcome guests.

“Ahem, Lord Deus. It seems like it is about time you explained why you arranged for this meeting."

Eventually, Ellan, the Head of the Bright Household and Erica's father, was the first to speak up.

"I thought today was an occasion to further solidify the betrothal between Erica and Lord Deus, but it seems like that is not the case."

He subtly glanced towards the Zeronia’s side first before continuing his words.

"There is an unnecessary guest here, isn't there?"

In response to his words, Gilthea who had long red hair, like a lion’s mane, flowing behind his back, snorted and replied.

"Didn’t we also have some relationship with the young lady of your household?"

"..."

“And did we ever hesitate and insult you like this when you came to us wagging your tail, saying you wanted her to marry Gideon?”

Bam!

Gilthea, who was slowly getting worked up while speaking, abruptly stood up and glared in my direction.

“Let me make this very clear. Everyone else in the household said that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity given by the Goddess and that we should make a good impression on you, Soul Whisperer. However...”

"F-Father!"

Bewildered by Gilthea's sudden attempt to upend the situation, Gideon tried to intervene, but Gilthea was already pointing at me.

"It seems you just called us here to discipline the Bright Household, but you'll regret summoning us like some stupid mutts for this matter. Mark my words, we will rise again."

Without speaking any further, Gilthea turned around to leave. I had heard about his tough temperament, and I could certainly see he did have the tendency.

His thick arms especially gave the impression that the blood of a martial artist truly ran through them.

First, to stop him from leaving, I attempted to speak up. However...

"What a prick."

Deia, who was sitting beside me and eating chicken, interjected while supporting her chin.

Gilthea's gaze shifted at those words. Even though his murderous intent, his mouth twisted into a vicious scowl, was directed at her, Deia simply stabbed her fork into the chicken and twirled her wrist nonchalantly.

As soon as they stepped in, the eldest son, Elliah, spoke up.

"The Soul Whisperer's proposal isn't bad at all, but it's still somewhat regrettable.”

While he offered them a chance to get on good terms with the Royal Family, Elliah got a strong feeling that the engagement with Erica would practically be nullified.

The Zeronia Household might welcome the opportunity to wag their tails at the Royal Family, however for the Bright Household, who wanted to solidify the relationship between the households through marriage, it wasn't an entirely favorable outcome.

It was the next best thing, not the best.

"Obviously, that foolish girl, Erica, has already taken the Soul Whisperer's side."

At Elliah’s words, Ellan, the head of the family, also sighed deeply with regret.

However, at that moment, Edwon, the younger son, interjected with a confident smile.

"Then let's go in a different direction."

"Hm?"

"Do you have some kind of secret plan?"

Under the gazes of the eldest son and their father, Edwon thumped his chest confidently.

"I will marry Deia Verdi."

"...Is that even possible?"

Both of them had seen Deia Verdi's momentum and had experienced her calculating nature firsthand, so they seemed unable to trust the idea.

Surprisingly, Edwon responded with a fresh smile.

"Since the start, Deia Verdi has been glancing at me continuously. When I counted the number of times our eyes met, it exceeded double digits."

At his words, both of them found it unexpected, yet they could also see potential in his plan.

Even within the Bright Household, Edwon was particularly handsome. Of course, his popularity with women was quite dazzling, but ironically, that could become an advantage for him to skillfully seduce Deia.

"Well, since she was quite a doll too, I don’t really mind marrying into that household. Since Erica failed, I'll take on the responsibility."

In fact, just by saying this much, Edwon quite liked Deia's appearance.

"From observing her behavior this time, it seems like she's quite an emotional woman. So, if we orchestrated a few fate-like situations, it would naturally be enough for me to sweep her with my charm and eloquence."

Having exchanged glances with her multiple times, Edwon was already confident that Deia harbored feelings for him.

* * *

The next morning.

Since the secret meeting, which was disguised as a family meeting, was scheduled for the evening, there was some free time to wander around.

Deia was sitting indifferently on a bench in the garden of the Bright Household, arms folded and legs crossed.

In the distance, she could see Deus and Erica spending time together, staring at the flower bed. Somehow, seeing such a sight, oddly annoyed her.

Why is that idiot doing unnecessary things?

Why was he wasting time with Erica, when he wasn't even planning to marry that woman anyway?

Since it had been a while since the last time they met, Deia thought it wouldn't be bad for the siblings to have a family conversation.

After all, wasn't the present family more important than the arranged one?

That woman wasn't even part of the arrangement from the start.

As she sensed a presence next to her, with a deep sigh, Deia, who had been staring at the two, turned her head slightly.

Edwon, the second son of the Bright Household, stood there with a bright smile, holding some flowers.

"It seems that you are quite fond of the flowers in our household estate, so I picked some for you."

"...Ah, yes."

Deia tried to maintain her expression as she scrutinized Edwon.

An intense determination was evident behind his bright smile.

Ah, he finally took it out.

Actually, the reason Deia kept staring at Edwon yesterday was because some food was stuck between his teeth and that annoyed her to the point where she felt the urge to yank his teeth out. However, fortunately, it didn't continue today.

"Would you like to spend some time with me?"

What’s this bastard’s deal with me?

Deia wondered why the man was suddenly making a move on her. However...

Ha, does he see me as an easy woman?

In that fleeting moment, Deia could clearly see what schemes the Bright Household was up to, which made her snort inwardly.

She wanted to ask him if his head wasn't working properly and if he'd like her to make a bullet hole in his head for some air circulation.

However, upon seeing Deus and Erica in the distance, she felt all the more annoyed for no reason.

"Come with me."

Deia suddenly got up and walked towards the two with a /genesisforsaken