Chapter 435: Not a chicken

The next day.

Rory headed straight for Vincent’s room the moment she stepped out of her quarters.

The door to every room in the house featured automatic identification. The second Rory approached, the system on the door recognized her and opened right up. At home, Rory had free access to everyone’s private space. She could even walk into the studies where Vincent, Yuel, and Vangar kept their top-secret documents whenever she pleased. However, Rory rarely entered their rooms unless she was looking for them or they were actually inside.

Rory walked into Vincent’s suite and headed straight for his bedroom.

"Vincent, are you awake?" Rory tapped the light-screen lock lightly to open the bedroom door. "I’m coming in!"

Creak!

The door opened.

Inside the bedroom, a fire bird rested by the bed, its tail feathers cascading down like burning crimson clouds. Its fiery-red plumage shimmered with a satin-like luster, threaded through with fine, dancing flecks of golden light. It was breathtakingly beautiful—completely impossible to connect with the coal-ball-like little fat bird from before.

Hearing Rory’s voice, its half-closed, black-and-gold pupils snapped open, shifting toward her.

"Rory, why are you here so early?"

"I came to watch you hatch the cubs." Rory climbed onto the bed and stroked Vincent’s feathers twice. "Vincent, your feathers really are stunning."

"Do you like them?" Vincent asked.

When Vincent was in his original form, Rory couldn’t read his expression, but she could tell from his tone that he was smiling.

"I love them, absolutely love them," Rory nodded without a moment’s hesitation. "Where are the egg cubs?" she asked.

Vincent spread one of his wings. The two fiery-red egg cubs lay quietly beneath it.

"So they were under your wing!" Rory reached out to touch the two egg cubs. These tiny things were only about the size of chicken eggs, with no features distinguishable yet. But for some reason, the more Rory looked at them, the more adorable she found them.

"If not under my wing, where else would they be?" Vincent chuckled and asked.

Rory said, "When my grandma used to raise chickens, whenever I saw a hen hatching eggs, they were always under her belly."

The very next second, Vincent transformed back into his human form on the bed. He looked at Rory, his gaze a mixture of helplessness and immense tenderness. "Rory, I’m a fire bird, not a chicken."

In truth, he didn’t even need to shift into his true form to hatch them; he just had to use his elemental ability to regulate the temperature. When he heard Rory coming in earlier, shifting into his original form was purely so Rory could see that he really wasn’t a little fat bird. His form was remarkably majestic now, not chubby in the slightest.

Yet, he never expected his Rory’s focus to be so bizarre.

"I know!" Rory stroked his face. "I was just making an analogy."

"You’re not allowed to make that kind of analogy." Vincent caught Rory’s lips in a gentle bite. "I’m a father of two cubs now. If they hear you, they’ll definitely laugh at me." How was he supposed to maintain his paternal authority in the future?

Rory immediately promised, "I’ll never say it again."

Vincent released her, leaning in close to her ear to murmur, "When it’s just the two of us alone, you can say it."

Rory gave him a light push and pulled the blanket over him. "I won’t say it anymore. But shouldn’t you throw on some clothes next time?"

Propping his head up with one hand, Vincent glanced down at the blanket covering him, offering a smile that carried a distinct, seductive charm. "What’s there to be afraid of? These two little guys haven’t broken out of their shells yet—they can’t see a thing."

Rory: "..."

At least Yuel knew to wear some clothes, even if it wasn’t much. This man, on the other hand, went ahead and didn’t wear a single thing.

"Aren’t you afraid the cubs will hear you and call you an improper father?"

"They can’t hear anything right now," Vincent replied.

He actually had clothes on earlier, but the moment he heard Rory coming in, he stripped them off directly and shifted back into his true form. Naturally, when he turned back into human form, he had nothing on.

Watching Vincent fling the blanket open, Rory reached out to cover him back up. Vincent wasn’t afraid of her looking, but she didn’t dare to look. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control herself.

After tucking the blanket in properly, Rory immediately changed the topic, asking Vincent, "How are you going to hatch the cubs during the day like this? Surely you’re not going to stuff them in your pockets?"

Vincent picked up the cubs, placed them to the side, and then pulled Rory right into his arms in one swift motion, leaning down to capture her lips.

"Just like how Yuel raised Terry back then—put them in a specially made pocket on the inside of my top, near my chest. I’ll use my elemental energy to maintain the temperature continuously."

Rory nodded, understanding now. "Stop messing around, get up quickly. We still have an appointment with Bree to go to the Battlefield today."

"There’s no rush for a few moments," Vincent kissed Rory’s lips, taking her hand and placing it to let her feel... "Why didn’t Rory dare to look at it just now?"

The warmth pressing into her palm made Rory’s face flush red, and she defended herself in a low voice, "I don’t have the kind of self-control you guys have. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from devouring you."

Vincent gave a light, tender bite to Rory’s ear. "How terrifying, you scared me to death. I thought Rory was growing tired of me and didn’t like it anymore..."

Rory immediately used her other hand to cover his mouth. "Keep your voice down! You’re a fire bird, not a shameless pervert!" How could he speak so...

Vincent blinked innocently. "Not allowed to kiss, not allowed to talk either. Then what am I supposed to do?"

Rory gave him a glare. "Too bad, get your butt up right now." She pushed Vincent away and sat up. "Since you need to hatch the cubs now, you shouldn’t step into battle against Bree today. I’m worried it might hurt the cubs."

Vincent reached out, hooked the clothes nearby, and handed them into Rory’s hands, looking at her as he asked, "Are you planning to let Wen handle it?"

Rory nodded. "Leaving a big shot unused—wouldn’t that be a waste of resources? Besides, I also want to see what his true strength is like. If Wen’s strength falls short, you can hand the cubs to me then and jump in to help."

She wanted to know whether Wen was rank twelve or rank thirteen.

Vincent smiled and nodded. "Alright, whatever you say." Having said that, he sat up from the bed and pointed at the clothes in Rory’s hands. "Rory, help me put them on."

How did this man become so needy just from hatching cubs?

"Fine, I’ll dress you." Rory stood up, unfolded the clothes, and helped Vincent put them on. Then she added, "Go freshen up first. I’ll go check on Wen, and it happens to be a good time to tell him about Bree."

"Go ahead," Vincent nodded.

Leaving Vincent’s room, Rory made her way to Wen’s room along the path.

The moment she stepped inside Wen’s room, a current of water suddenly swept forward, instantly wrapping around her and pulling her into the seabed.

"The Female Master came to see me so early in the morning—it really makes me happy."

Lying on the bed, Wen looked at Rory, who was wrapped in a gentle flow of water as she landed right into his arms. A deep smile brimmed inside his pale-pink, starry eyes.

Rory looked at him and got straight to the point, "I came to tell you that Vincent needs to hatch the cubs now, so regarding Bree today, I might need you to make a move."

"Does the Female Master really want me to step in, or do you just want to test my strength?" Wen lightly nibbled on Rory’s finger, asking with a smile.