Chapter 334: Whose Side Are You On?

"That boy is a threat," Bruce said in a solemn tone. "In just a day, he managed to pull the ladies of our family to his side."

"Yeah. He is a menace," Philip agreed. "Even Rhea is pestering him about when she will be able to hold her great-grandchild."

"I say we kidnap him while everyone is sleeping," Dennis proposed.

"I second this proposal." Erik nodded. "As long as we do it quickly, no one will notice that he is missing."

The men of the Oswald Family were currently holding a secret meeting in the stables, which was a good distance away from the house.

The sun was about to set, and the ladies were preparing dinner. they weren't needed there, so they decided to talk about how they would handle the young man, who was worming himself inside their safe haven.

"But I still don't understand," Dennis said. "He's a Dud and a Country Boy like us. Where did he get such wealth? I'm not saying that he got it through evil means, but isn't it a bit suspicious?"

"Well, thanks to those funds, we were able to procure some food and provisions for our people." Erik scratched his head. "Auntie May down the hill even thanked me with tears running down her face. This has been a very bad year for our crops. If it weren't for his funds, many would have starved this winter."

An awkward silence descended upon the stable as the men of the Oswald Family pondered their next move.

On one hand, they wanted to beat the crap out of Ethan and kick him out of their barony.

On the other hand, they had to admit that he did have the qualifications to pursue Luna. He was good-looking, smart, and wealthy.

If not for the fact that they were simply overprotective of Luna, they might have already welcomed him with open arms.

"Don't falter!" Bruce growled. "If we sympathize with our enemy, we will not be able to kick him out of the house. Luna is still too young to be in a relationship. She just turned eighteen this year."

"… Your mother was eighteen when we got married," Philip commented.

"Grandpa, whose side are you on?" Dennis complained.

Philip cleared his throat before answering. "I'm on our family's side, of course. I'm just stating facts."

After the four people debated for an hour, they finally came up with a plan to deal with Ethan.

Unbeknownst to them, a Winter Moth flapped its wings and flew out of the stable window, eager to report everything it had seen and heard to its Master.

Ethan made sure that he had scouts keeping tabs on the men of the Oswald Family, knowing that they would likely do something to him during his stay in their residence.

"Good work," Ethan praised the moth, who was now perched on his finger. "Continue to monitor them."

The Moth opened its wings and flew out of the window to continue its scouting duties.

"I got to hand it to them. They are firm in their decision of kicking you out." Sebastian chuckled.

"Just tell them that you have done the deed with Luna," Ethan's Other Half commented. "I'm sure if you do that, they'll accept you as her boyfriend. I mean, what can possibly go wrong?"

"Well, they can attack me on the spot for saying such a thing." Ethan snorted. "The moment I say that is the moment that I'd be buried six feet under, never to be seen or heard from again."

Ethan pondered a bit on how he was going to thwart the "kidnapping" plan that the men of the Oswald Family devised for him.

He would definitely have an easy time if he summoned Dainsleif to help him, but he didn't plan on doing that. seaʀᴄh thё nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Luna had developed an inherent fear of Wendigos. If she found out that Ethan used the Ancient Wendigo to her family, she might not say anything on the surface, but she would definitely feel hurt.

Also, Dainsleif was a creature that, once summoned, would definitely go for the kill.

This was especially true after consuming the Wendigo that had been captured at Brynhildr Academy.

Its power was now at its peak, and according to Ethan's Other Half, it was also at the cusp of another evolution.

As to what kind of Wendigo it would evolve into, the young man was both excited and anxious to find out soon.

'Chloe will be sleeping with Luna tonight, and Emma and I will sleep in a different room,' Ethan thought. 'If I sleep with Emma, there is a chance that she might get hurt if they decide to proceed with their plan.'

Ethan pondered a bit before an idea came to his mind.

Although it wasn't perfect, it was a good stop-gap measure for what he was about to do.

At that moment, he heard a knock on the door.

"Ethan, dinner's ready," Chloe's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Come down as soon as you can."

"Coming," Ethan replied before walking toward the door.

When he and Chloe arrived in the dining room, everyone was already there, including the men of the family.

They were looking at Ethan with calm expressions on their faces, which made him smile.

'Since they want to play, I'll play with them,' Ethan mused as he took the seat that was offered to him.

He was seated between Chloe and Emma, while Luna was farther away from him at the table.

"I hope you enjoy the food," Irene said with a smile. "Luna worked hard to cook it for you."

"M-Mother…" Luna pouted, making her look very endearing.

"This is the first time I'm going to eat something Luna has made," Ethan replied. "I'm looking forward to it."

He then ate a spoonful of the chicken soup that Luna made, and a surprised look appeared on his face.

"Delicious," Ethan said. "I didn't know you were good at cooking, Luna."

"I only cook from time to time," Luna replied while blushing. "I'm not that good. You're exaggerating."

"I'm not," Ethan insisted. "It is really good. Isn't that right, Chloe?"

Chloe nodded. "It is indeed good. You should teach me how to cook this one of these days."

The atmosphere at the dining table became lively after that.

Everyone ate and casually chatted like one big happy family.

Even the men joined the conversation as if they no longer held any hostility towards Ethan.

Of course, both sides knew that this was simply a facade.

Still, that didn't change the fact that this was one of the liveliest dinners that the Oswald Family had ever since Luna had gone to Brynhildr Academy to study magic.