Chapter 1176: Chapter 1176: When It Comes to Chasing a Wife, You Have to Rely on Yourself

Benjamin, upon seeing Casimir Shaw with so many snacks, immediately started circling around him and calling him all sorts of affectionate names.

Casimir Shaw laughed with pride and called Nicholas Carter over, inviting both to pick their favorite snacks to eat. Suddenly, the living room turned into a lively scene with the three kids creating a little drama.

Leah Squire parked the car and walked in, only to find Casimir happily sharing snacks with his younger siblings, and she couldn’t help but smile. Over the years, the only comfort she had was knowing that this child grew into a fine young man even without her presence.

After dinner, Richard Shaw and Ignatius Leclair arrived together to pick up the kids; they seemed to have planned it as they met outside.

Seeing Richard drive alone, Ignatius Leclair squinted his eyes mocking him, "Your leg finally healed?"

Richard Shaw leaned against the car door, casually replying, "If you can heal from stabbing yourself, my old injuries should be fine, too."

Some time ago, Ignatius stabbed himself, shocking the entire Howard Family like an earthquake. Now, with Richard bringing it up, Ignatius’s expression soured a bit.

Both are a pair of fools, one with a useless leg, the other stabbing themselves.

Thinking this, Ignatius felt more at ease, patting Richard on the shoulder with a playful smile, "Brothers in hardship, don’t let life take us down. Are you planning to return to the Military District because of Griffith Squire?"

Richard nodded, looking at the warm light emanating from the house, coldly saying, "Griffith Squire has been lying low for so long, surely for the Cox Family incident years ago. Returning to the Military District will give me better leverage."

Ignatius was also quite vexed with Griffith, considering every time Delphine had to choose between him and Griffith, she always chose Griffith. That bandit chief, why couldn’t he just be a bandit instead of masquerading as a gentleman?

"Rumor has it that he’s causing quite a stir over in Brocade City lately?" Ignatius’s intelligence network was efficient, with news from various elite families across regions reaching him.

Richard briefly recounted the matter of Griffith with the Coldwell Family. Ignatius nodded, smirking, suggesting Griffith was keeping a mistress in Brocade City yet dared to seek attention from Delphine?

Seems the threat from Richard is a bit more significant. Ignatius looked at Richard sympathetically, saying, "Hang in there, the Squire siblings can be quite tormenting. But when dealing with Leah, your approach won’t work, she’s given you the cold shoulder despite your lowly pleas for three years. This proves your strategy is wrong. Want some tips? I offer them free of charge."

Richard remained silent momentarily, observing the man’s handsome yet stern face, firmly declined, saying, "No need."

Everyone’s equally flawed, if Ignatius was capable, would he still stab himself? Delphine never even cast him a proper glance. Chasing a wife, Richard believed, was something one had to do on their own.

Ignatius coldly laughed, then challenged, "Let’s see who can win over their woman faster."

Feeling the bone-chilling wind, they decided to knock and enter the house.

Delphine and Leah were in the kitchen doing dishes, and Nicholas opened the door. The little child stood on a stool to reach the door handle and politely greeted, "Hello, Uncle Ignatius, Uncle Richard."

He then turned away, running back to his book and toys.

"Your son still calls you uncle?" Richard asked leisurely.

Ignatius was momentarily speechless, unable to retort. His son had been taught by Delphine to remain distant and detached from everyone; getting him to call him uncle was already a success.

"I’m happy with ’uncle,’" Ignatius replied, narrowing his eyes with a hint of depth, and called out his trump card in a low voice, "Benjamin Leclair."

The cute little girl had spent the whole evening figuring out how to get snacks from Casimir and upon hearing her dad’s voice, she widened her big black eyes, quickly stashed her loot into Nicholas’s backpack, then stood up sweetly saying, "Daddy, Benjamin has been practicing writing diligently."

Casimir and Nicholas couldn’t help but roll their eyes at her words; with handwriting as messy as turtle tracks, has she really been practicing diligently?

Seeing his adorable little daughter behave so sweetly when faced with Richard’s jealous glare, Ignatius felt content, reaching out to touch her little head, asking, "Where’s your mommy?"

"Mommy is washing dishes with the pretty auntie," Benjamin adorably replied, hiding her practice calligraphy sheet under Nicholas’s book.

The commotion was loud enough for the kitchen to hear, yet neither woman bothered to peek out.

Two prominent figures, one the first heir of a Southern family, the other an Imperial City Major General, were left standing in the living room.

Richard lightly coughed, proposing, "Chess?"

"Let’s," Ignatius agreed. They both sat at a small table by the floor-to-ceiling window, setting up the chessboard, clearly not planning to leave anytime soon.

In the kitchen, Delphine was washing dishes, Leah drying them with a towel, both gently chatting, entirely uninterested in dealing with the men outside.

"If Casimir turns out to be your biological son, what do you plan to do?" Delphine asked, frowning slightly after Leah recounted the afternoon’s events. Considering the complicated relations between herself and Ignatius due to their child, she didn’t want Leah to face the same situation.

"Depends on the situation; in principle, Crystal Landon is gone, and it’s impossible for her to return from the dead. Even if Casimir is my child, acknowledging him isn’t an option," Leah, more open-minded, replied coolly, "Things are good as they are now."

Initially, she and Richard assumed they were just in a simple relationship with occasional arguments, but Griffith’s return complicated matters after he exposed Leah’s identity, transforming her from Leah Squire to Richard’s ex-wife, suddenly making things complex.

"Griffith firmly opposes us being together for reasons I haven’t uncovered yet. Once I figure it out, I’ll decide then," Leah subtly frowned, mentioning.

"Do you like Major General Shaw?" Delphine softly inquired.

Leah paused in silence, her vibrant eyes shone with a hint of darkness. For someone constantly on the run, her wariness towards people was high. She realized she probably started liking Richard back when he sat grimly in a wheelchair, wearing simple clothes, cold and silent. That’s when she began to allow him into her world bit by bit over the coming years.

Their interaction had nearly ceased, yet neither mentioned breaking up. Facing reality, Leah contemplated whether she should continue clinging to this remaining affection.