Chapter 144 144 Reunite

Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Reunite

No kidding, Nora looked like she could use three straight days of beauty sleep. Her eyes were bloodshot, and there were bags under them. Her normally perfect hair was somewhat disheveled- shooting out strands of yellow hair like palm fronds. And her white ankle-length gown looked like it could do with some attention from the launderers.

"Come on inside," she turned towards the stone steps; "You're going to want to hear this."

Arms clasped together in front of her, she took the first step towards the entrance to the great hall.

Sensing a very juicy update coming along, Nexus drew a long breath and followed her- darkening the ground of behind the stony steps.

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"Hold on, hold on," Nexus put his forefinger up in protest;

"Let me get this straight, you're telling me Lady Russell left home, went all the way to the Howard family without an invitation, and then subjected this Paul chap to an illusion which caused him to mount a pig- as in an actual pig–"

His voice rang with disbelief even as he recounted it;

"–and then made him make love with the creature? Right in front of his parents? And the whole estate?!"

"Please Nexus," she replied calmly; "There's really no need to be so formal. In this scenario, the phrase 'make love' is hardly appropraite. If you look at it objectively, it's actually rape. . ."

She leaned forward across the table, placing her elbows on the surface, and gesticulating with her hands;

"Think about it, the poor pig is the real victim in this situation. Imagine you're a pig- you know, just going about, doing your business, and then, some human gets the drop on you, and shoves his cock inside your. . ."

She stopped when the look off disgust screamed out on his face.

They were both seated at the large mahogany dining table- in the great hall. On the walls, the line of of shields shone brilliantly under the invading rays of the midday sun. A small feast had been laid out for both of them.

But Nexus wasn't hungry.

His eyes kept blinking as the whole puzzle began to come together swiftly.

Of course! It all made sense now! No wonder Paul had come down on Monica with that kind of anger. He wanted more than just her death. He was looking to humiliate her- much in the same way had been done to him.

He whistled softly;

"Wow Monica, I gotta hand it to you, your family certainly knows how to dole out punishments."

The young blonde picked up a knife, selected a juicy red apple, and began to peel its skin;

"I don't know about that. But, what's done is done. There's no taking it back. No matter what, I'll always stand with my mother."

"As you should," he repeated while nodding; "As you should,"

A peel of apple back dropped onto her plate on the table.

"I know what you're going to say Nexus, I' m not naive, I know this is far from over. . ." she focused intently on her apple;

"My mother wants us all on lock down for the time being. . .but. . .sitting here. . .all cooped up. . .doing nothing. . .imagining all the sick ways Paul might try to pull. . .it's nerve wracking!"

Her hand shifted and the blade sank into her thumb. Rich red blood spilled over immediately;

"SHIT!!" she swore.

At that exact moment, on the left side of the great hall, the door to the east-wing suddenly burst open, ushering in a skinny looking female servant that was running on her heels.

"Perfect timing Jennifer," Nora exclaimed; "Kindly fetch me something for–"

"Forgive me Lady Nora!" the out of breath girl rasped; "But your sister- Lady Monica is back!"

The words were hardly out of her mouth before Nora took off in a blinding flash. As she shot up from her chair, the cutlery in her hand dropped to the table with a sharp clang. In spite of her gown, she managed to spritz right past Nexus, thumping her way towards the door, as her breasts bounced on her chest.

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Outside the courtyard, Monica was brushing her horse's mane absentmindedly.

The stable boy stood a few feet away, watching her uneasily, not sure what to do after being told off by her.

Nora blasted through the doors- face red, hair dancing, and hands holding up the helm of her gown ;

"Monica where the heck have you been? Mother's been worried sick about you!"

The red head shot her sister a meager glance, before returning her gaze to her horse. Clutching the brush in her right hand, she heaved up and down on the animal's brown mane, brushing in short vertical motions, forcing the hair into submission.

Nora tore down the stone steps with bulging eyes, and an angry look- looking like an enraged mother.

"This isn't a game! There's stuff going down that you need to be aware off, for heaven sakes, we're a family! And this family has enemies!"

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about." Monica mouthed slowly.

"Of course you don't! You're never around! What if something had happened to you out there?!"

Nora's domineering voice was actively ringing through out the stone walls and grounds of the courtyard. The shifting wind carried it throughout, making her opinion loud and clear.

"Speak plainly Nora." she yawned tiredly; "There's no need for theatrics."

Nora's eyes widened significantly- both shocked, and annoyed at her sister's devil-may-care attitude.

Nexus on the other hand, emerged shortly after her. Standing at the door, atop the stone steps, immediately, his eyes drifted towards the empty the second horse beside Monica. It was empty. The corpse wrapped in white cloth was no longer there.

In a flash, Nexus did the math. He had arrived a full hour before her, so maybe, she had taken a detour with the corpse. He strongly suspected that she might have taken the body back to the deceased's family, and that was probably why she was late.

Impressed, an unconscious smile formed across his lower face.

He nodded in her direction, shooting her a familiar wordless greeting, and praising her with his eyes.

But his face paled almost immediately at Monica's reaction! With an icy expression, she looked at him repulsively- as if disgusted that he had dared to nod in her direction! On the spot, Nexus' insides churned. He blinked several times- as his mind began to calculate what the fuck that was.

And then it hit him like lightning.

The trench coat, and hat was gone- along with his disguise! He was no longer Ni Yang! In place of the smooth talking, familiar handsome alchemist- was now the annoying physician that had fixed up her stepmother, and was now shooting her creepy stares.

Instantly, he assumed his role in this dynamic, and fixed up his expression.

As he walked down towards both women, Nexus felt the opposite of embrassment. A warm fuzzy feeling lit up his insides- provoking another smile on his face.

'Oh Monica,' he mused internally; 'It's cute of you to put on such a brave face. . .brave indeed. . .'

Meanwhile, Nora and her sister were having the most misunderstanding conversation.