Chapter 436: Dad-trapper

"Both," Rory answered truthfully.

In truth, Rory knew that Vincent and the others might already know about Wen’s strength and secrets. But she hadn’t asked them. Since this was a game between her and Wen, she naturally had to guess it all on her own.

Rory looked at Wen, her tone domineering. "Just say it—do you agree or not?"

"Since you’ve asked, how could I ever refuse?" Wen pressed a light kiss to the corner of Rory’s lips. "Rest assured, if my intervention is needed, I will certainly step in. However, I also have one condition."

"You dare negotiate conditions with me?" Rory narrowed her eyes, giving him a dangerous look.

Wen wasn’t afraid in the slightest. He chuckled and said, "It’s a tiny condition—the Female Master will definitely agree to it."

Having said that, he raised his hand, and a light blue dress crafted from shark-silk appeared in his palm. "I want the Female Master to wear this dress, which I made with my own hands, today."

Rory had wondered what kind of condition he was about to set. "No problem."

She reached out to take the dress from Wen’s hand, but he shifted it out of her reach.

Wen wrapped his arms around Rory from behind. "Let me help you change."

The man’s warm breath brushed against Rory’s ear, causing her face to flush instantly. Wen practically enveloped Rory entirely within his embrace, slowly loosening her clothes...

"Female Master, aren’t you going to take a guess at my strength now?"

Rory was no fool. "I’ll guess after you finish fighting Bree." By then, she would surely be able to gauge his true power—guaranteed to guess it right on the very first try.

Wen let out a soft laugh, leaning down to leave a soft mark on Rory’s chest. "Alright, then we’ll wait until we return to guess."

Once her clothes were changed, Rory quickly departed from Wen’s room. She was afraid that if she left even a moment later, she wouldn’t even have time for breakfast. Now, she no longer had the cubs to act as her protective shield. The test of her self-control had arrived once more.

After stepping out of Wen’s room, Rory arrived on the first floor, only to bump right into Yuel, who was just returning from outside.

"Yuel, why are you coming back from outside?" Rory walked over to him with quick steps.

Before Yuel could speak, Terry popped out from Yuel’s hair to register a complaint with Rory. "Mama, Father enslaved me for the whole night! I reviewed documents with him all night long!..."

So the two of them, father and son, worked straight through the night?

"Terry, don’t cry. Mama will hold you." Rory picked up Terry, who had transformed back into his human form, and looked at Yuel with deep heartache. "Is your work really that busy? Is there anything I can help with?" Even if she couldn’t help with much, easing his load even a little bit would be good.

Yuel shot a dangerous glance at Terry, then turned a gentle gaze toward Rory. "Since I just took over at the Executive Department, the workload is indeed a bit heavy. It’ll be fine once we get through these first few days."

Yuel caught Rory’s hand. "Rory, you don’t need to worry. We vine beastmen can go without sleep for several days straight. This level of work intensity doesn’t feel tiring to me at all; I can handle it with ease." It merely took up some time, that was all.

Hearing that his father wasn’t telling the truth, Terry leaned close to Rory’s ear and whispered, "Mama, Father isn’t telling you the truth!"

"Terry!" Yuel narrowed his eyes, casting a warning look at Terry.

"Don’t you threaten Terry—let him speak!" Rory shot Yuel a glare.

Yuel: "..."

Terry wasn’t afraid of Yuel at all and continued telling Rory, "Mama, Father worked like crazy last night so he could clear out his schedule today to accompany you to the Divine Battlefield! Otherwise, he could have come home very early last night. He’s just worried about your safety."

Yuel pressed a palm to his forehead.

He really didn’t know whether to say Terry was a sweet son or an absolute dad-trapper.

"Rory, I know that with Vincent and Vangar by your side, you are already more than safe enough," Yuel began gently. "However, since Bree might be a rank-thirteen Zerg, I am still worried about potential accidents. Being near you simply puts my mind at ease. Even if I didn’t go today, I wouldn’t be able to focus on work anyway."

Yuel’s original intention hadn’t been to let Rory know about any of this. It was something he did entirely out of his own free will, and since it was voluntary, there was no need to make a big show of it.

Rory set Terry down, reaching out to wrap her arms around Yuel’s waist. Looking up at him with a tender smile, she said, "I want you to come with me, too. Whenever you’re not by my side, I always feel a bit uneasy."

Rory knew Yuel wanted her to need him. Since he poured so much of himself into caring for her, she wasn’t about to pour cold water on his devotion. She wouldn’t tell him that having Vincent, Wen, Vangar, and Xarion was already more than enough and that he should just stay home to rest. That wouldn’t make Yuel happy; it would only make him feel unwanted.

Watching this scene unfold, Terry giggled and ran off toward the sofa. Hearing Mama say all that must make Father feel so good inside. Father loved nothing more than being needed by Mama.

Gazing at the distant figure of Terry running off, Yuel wrapped his arms back around Rory, pulling her close. "Rory, I’m really happy."

"I’m really happy to have you by my side, too," Rory replied, giving Yuel a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back. "You’ve been busy all night, so go take a quick shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. Come down to eat in a bit, and after breakfast, we’ll head to the Divine Demise Battlefield together."

Yuel nodded. Just as he turned to leave, he finally picked up on the shift in Rory’s aura. "Rory, did your rank advance?" Her aura felt so strong—it clearly wasn’t a boost of just one level.

"Yep," Rory nodded. "I forgot to mention it, but I formed a mate bond with Wen. It was a ritual similar to the one I used with Vincent, and my ability jumped straight to rank ten. Also, the cubs in my belly absorbed a chunk of Wen’s elemental energy last night and ended up being born early. Right now, Vincent is back in his room hatching them."

"Ah." Hearing that it was Wen, a look of understanding dawned on Yuel’s face as he nodded. "Then there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll go change first."

"Wait a minute." Rory pulled him back. "Judging by your reaction, it seems like you’ve known for a while that Wen isn’t as simple as he seems?"

Yuel smiled. "Rory, no one can hide themselves perfectly. Do you want to know about Wen? I can tell you."

Rory shook her head. "I promised him I’d figure it out on my own."

Yuel figured as much. "Then do you want me to give you a few hints?"

"Not for now. If I get completely stumped later, I’ll come ask you," Rory said.

"Fair enough. I’ll head back to my room to wash up and change then." With that, Yuel turned and walked away.

Rory turned around and headed to the sofa to scoop up Terry into her arms. "Do you want to stay home and get some sleep today?" Seeing how drowsy Terry looked, she asked with a heart full of sympathy.

"No way! Terry wants to go to the Divine Demise Battlefield with Mama too!" Terry nestled into a comfortable position in Rory’s arms and closed his eyes. "Mama, I promise I’ll be really good this time and won’t run off anywhere."

"Mama trusts you." Rory chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead. She pulled out two beast cores and placed them into his hands so he could absorb their energy.

A short while later, Aren and Jasper finished preparing breakfast. By then, Terry had finished absorbing the energy from the beast cores. Since he couldn’t eat solid food yet, he sat on the couch playing by himself, accompanied by two elders from the Black-Moon Vine clan who had just come downstairs.

Rory went over to eat breakfast first.

At the dining table, Vangar, Jasper, and Aren were all staring at Wen, who had just taken his seat.

Nix gave the three of them a bewildered look. "Are you three not hungry? Why are you staring at Wen instead of eating?"