Chapter 202: Chapter: 201 Scheming against the Velentina.

"Ahh, Kat... you didn’t tell me you were coming..." Nathaniel walked over with a smile so painfully awkward it barely looked human anymore.

Beside him, Rosel held his hand obediently, but her attention was completely elsewhere.

Her large sparkling eyes stayed locked onto Kathlyin like a devoted believer finally meeting the legendary hero from an old storybook.

Inside her tiny head, dramatic music was already playing.

’She’s the other half who defeated Ganos...’ Rosel looked one second away from asking for an autograph.

"It’s been a while since you visited," Nathaniel continued carefully while walking closer.

The closer he got, the more nervous he became. Because Nathaniel knew something very important about Kathlyin.

She was insane....Not normal insane either....she was the obsessive kind.

The kind that could smile while throwing someone through a mountain.

The kind that once started a war because somebody insulted Elizabeth’s cooking.

And worst of all...Nobody could stop her once she decided something.

Meanwhile, Kathlyin completely ignored his suffering.

She casually walked toward Elizabeth first, grabbed the drink directly from her sister’s hand, and took a sip without permission like it already belonged to her.

Elizabeth did not even react. Clearly this had happened many times before.

Kathlyin narrowed her emerald eyes at Nathaniel for one long second before letting out another cold snort.

Nathaniel visibly lost emotional health points. Then...Her gaze slowly landed on Rosel.

And instantly...she melted. "Ohhh..." Kathlyin’s face softened immediately. "Are you the girl my boy adopted?"

Before Rosel could even react, Kathlyin quickly handed the glass back to Elizabeth and marched straight toward her.

"H-Hello... I’m Rosel..." Rosel nervously greeted her.

Trying to act respectful toward one of the world’s great heroes, she carefully lifted the edge of her summer skirt slightly in a tiny greeting.

It lasted less than two seconds. Kathlyin immediately picked her up off the ground like a plush toy.

"KYAAA—!"

Rosel’s tiny legs started kicking in the air helplessly.

"How cute!" Kathlyin gasped dramatically before rubbing her cheeks nonstop. "My boy really did a good job adopting you, didn’t he?!"

Rosel’s cheeks got squished from both sides repeatedly. Her face slowly turned round like dough.

"Auuugh..."

From the side, Julius lifted his chin proudly.

Naturally. Rosel getting praised meant his parenting skills were being praised too. A victory for fathers everywhere.

Rosalina also felt strangely proud while watching Rosel get cuddled so lovingly.

Though unlike Julius, she hid it behind her usual calm expression.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, looked completely bored. "Anyway," she said lazily while taking another sip, "did you kill the envoy?"

"Yeah," Kathlyin replied casually in between cheek attacks. "Finished him already. I also sent the item to Julius earlier."

Julius nodded calmly. The item Kathlyin sent was extremely important.

It originally belonged to the envoy himself, and Julius had already forwarded the item to Uriel so he could use it for their future plans.

Meaning everything had gone smoothly.

But Julius quickly pushed those thoughts away.

Right now, something far more entertaining was happening nearby.

Slowly, his gaze moved toward Nathaniel.

"...Haa." What a wonderful sight. His father currently looked like a man trapped between two active volcanoes.

Nobody was attacking him. Nobody was even speaking to him anymore. Yet somehow Nathaniel still looked like he was fighting for survival.

His shoulders were stiff. His smile looked forced. Sweat slowly rolled down the side of his face.

Every time Kathlyin moved even slightly, his eyes twitched. Julius almost wanted to applaud.

This was art. Unable to resist anymore, Julius slowly leaned closer toward Rosalina and whispered near her ear quietly.

"You know..." he murmured, trying not to laugh, "Aunt has a crush on dad."

Rosalina blinked once. "...What?"

"Mom doesn’t know."

Rosalina’s eyes widened immediately.

Julius continued calmly like he was discussing weather.

"Father rejected her before."

"...He WHAT?"

"And then aunt beat him up for refusing her."

Rosalina’s jaw dropped instantly. Her brain completely stopped working for a moment.

Earlier, she already felt Nathaniel’s behavior around Kathlyin looked strange.

But now everything suddenly made sense.

The nervous sweating...The fear...The forced smiling...The survival instincts. It all connected perfectly now. Rosalina slowly turned her head toward Nathaniel again.

Nathaniel noticed her staring. Their eyes met. Rosalina immediately looked away to stop herself from laughing.

Nathaniel could only let out a long, defeated sigh. ’There goes my dignity as the all-powerful father-in-law...’

He already knew. Whatever Julius knew, he had definitely shared with Rosalina already.

And now? Now she was looking at him with pure comedic shock. Nathaniel felt his soul leaving his body. Just a few days ago, things were completely different.

Back then, after rescuing them, Rosalina had looked at him with genuine admiration in her eyes.

Like a daughter discovering her father was secretly some legendary super cop from an action comic.

Nathaniel still remembered that feeling clearly. For the first time in years, somebody in this family had actually looked at him with respect.

He almost felt emotional. ’Finally...Finally someone understands my greatness.’

But now? Now even Rosalina was trying to suppress laughter every time she looked at him.

Nathaniel felt personally betrayed by fate itself. ’...How pitiful my life is.’

With the heavy aura of a defeated man, he slowly walked toward Elizabeth and sat beside her.

Elizabeth glanced at him once.

Then casually moved slightly farther away.

Nathaniel looked even more depressed.

Meanwhile, Rosel had finally escaped from Kathlyin’s terrifying affection prison.

The moment her feet touched the ground again, she immediately noticed Nathaniel sitting there alone with the lonely aura of a forgotten old warrior.

"...Grandpa..." she muttered softly. For a brief moment, Rosel felt the weight of his sacrifices.

But then...Rosel suddenly remembered something important. Very important actually.

A lesson every great man must understand. ’A man must bear his own burdens!’

Her eyes sharpened with determination.

’Yes. This was grandfather’s battle. He had to survive it himself.’

Rosel nodded seriously to herself before abandoning him completely and quietly walking toward Rosalina instead.

Nathaniel watched her leave. "...Even you?" he whispered weakly. The sea breeze hit him dramatically. Nobody comforted him.

Meanwhile, Kathlyin finally sat beside Julius on the grass.

Even while discussing serious matters, one of her hands continued stroking his hair affectionately like he was still twelve years old.

Julius had already given up resisting.

Kathlyin narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Now that we have the item from one of the heirs..." she began seriously, "are you certain this will work?"

"Definitely," Julius replied with a calm smile. Unlike earlier, his playful expression slowly faded.

The atmosphere around him became a bit colder. "The problem is," he continued, "they can still solve everything through dialogue."

Kathlyin nodded silently. "So our priority should be preventing that from happening."

Julius leaned back slightly while explaining. "First, we make sure the Velentina Clan’s suspicion stays focused on us."

"And after that..." a small smile slowly appeared on his face again, "...we provoke them as much as possible."

"Hm..." Kathlyin nodded again, but a faint frown unconsciously appeared on her face.

"But what if they directly declare war against us?" she asked. "Wouldn’t that be too much?"

Julius smiled. "It’s even better," he answered calmly.

The sea breeze moved through his hair gently while his golden eyes slowly darkened.

"As long as they become desperate...As long as they stand right at the edge of war against us..." His smile widened.

"...that’s exactly when discovering the betrayal will hurt the most."