Chapter 49: A Day With My Wife (Part 1)

The first thing Reinhard noticed when he woke up was the smell of breakfast. He stayed in bed for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling and enjoying the quiet, and then he noticed the note on the table beside him, written in Maki’s neat handwriting.

Lily and I went out to buy groceries, clothes, and a few things for the house. Breakfast is in the kitchen. Yuna went to see her trainer. She says NO training for you or Emily today.

The word NO had been underlined twice. Underneath it, in much messier handwriting, Lily had added, She underlined it THREE times. I watched.

Reinhard smiled. This family really has too much free time.

He got dressed and wandered into the kitchen, where breakfast was still warm. After eating, he poured himself some tea and took his time with it. No auction, no Collectors, no assassins, and no mysterious organizations sending cryptic messages.

For once, the morning was peaceful.

When he finished his tea, Reinhard walked toward the back of the house, and then he stopped. Emily was sitting out beneath the warm morning sun with her eyes closed as a gentle breeze moved through her silver hair, and Reinhard smiled without even realizing it.

He walked over. "Enjoying the sun?"

Emily opened her eyes. "Yes."

He glanced up at the sky. "It’s a nice day."

"It is."

They stayed quiet for a moment, and then Reinhard looked at her. "So, what did you do yesterday while I was gone?"

Emily smiled. "Nothing interesting. I stayed home."

"Sounds peaceful."

"It was." She tilted her head. "What about you?"

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

"The auction."

"Oh." A grin slowly spread across his face. That.

Emily noticed immediately. "You enjoyed yourself."

"Of course I did." He walked around to the front of her wheelchair and leaned against the garden railing. "When I got there, I found out the auction for the Bone Remaker Paste and the Oath Keeper Water started in one hour."

Emily’s expression changed. "An hour?"

"Yep."

"Then how did you get everything in time?"

"I moved quickly," he said with a shrug. "I used the Merchant King’s Lens to find things worth buying and where to sell them for the best price."

Emily nodded. "And then?"

"And then I used something new." Her attention sharpened. "It’s called the Mirror of Possibilities."

"What does it do?"

"It shows possible outcomes of major decisions."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You used it at the auction?"

"Not exactly," Reinhard said with a grin. "I sold access to it."

Emily blinked. "Access?"

"Apparently, rich Awakeners are willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to find out whether their next expedition is going to kill them," he said casually. "I made about thirty-two million before the auction even started."

Emily stared at him. "Thirty-two million?"

"Give or take."

"You did all of that in one hour?"

"Pretty much."

She slowly shook her head. "Reinhard."

"What?"

"You didn’t have to push yourself that hard." Her voice softened. "I’d rather you take your time than rush everything because you want to help me."

Reinhard’s smile softened too. "It wasn’t that bad."

"Still."

"I was having fun."

Emily gave him a look, and Reinhard laughed. "It was the fun kind of stress."

"There’s a fun kind?"

"Absolutely." He folded his arms. "Once the auction started, it was easy. Whenever someone tried to outbid me, I just bid higher."

Emily’s lips twitched. "You must have looked very flashy."

"Obviously."

"And arrogant."

"But of course." He placed a hand over his chest. "I was representing my beautiful wife. I had to show everyone she didn’t marry a bum."

Emily stared at him, and then she laughed. "I never cared about things like that."

"I know."

"You really are impossible."

"That’s one of my charms."

Emily laughed again, and then Reinhard’s expression changed as a mischievous light appeared in his eyes. "Oh?"

Emily immediately looked suspicious. "What?"

"I heard something very interesting at the auction."

"What did you hear?"

Reinhard leaned closer. "I heard that my beautiful, gentle, quiet wife used to go around insulting arrogant people."

Emily froze.

"On camera."

Her face went pale.

"Professionally."

Emily’s hands went straight to the wheels of her chair, and she tried to roll backward, but she couldn’t, because Reinhard was leaning against the armrest.

"...You heard about that," she said.

"Heard about it? I watched it." His grin widened. "There are compilations, Emily." He paused dramatically. "Compilations."

Emily covered her face. "I didn’t think you’d find out so soon."

"Oh?" Reinhard leaned closer. "So you knew I’d find out eventually?"

"It would have been strange if you didn’t."

"You told a man he lasted forty-three seconds."

Emily lowered her hands just enough to look at him. "Forty-two."

Reinhard blinked.

"The official timer was wrong."

He stared at her, and then he burst out laughing, and Emily’s cheeks turned bright red.

"It was wrong," she insisted. "I counted."

"You counted?"

"He talked for five minutes." She looked away. "I had a lot of time to prepare."

Reinhard wiped his eyes. "Lily told me you used to wait by the door for everyone with dinner ready."

"I did."

"She left out the part where you ended careers on live television."

"I did both," Emily said, lifting her chin. "Those things aren’t mutually exclusive."

Reinhard laughed again. "So my wife really was like that."

"I wasn’t that bad."

"You called a man talentless in front of reporters and then said you were being polite."

"He deserved it."

"That is exactly what an arrogant person would say."

Emily rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

After a moment, Reinhard sat down in the grass beside her wheelchair, got comfortable, and then leaned sideways and rested his head in her lap.

Emily froze. "Reinhard? What are you doing?"

"Getting comfortable," he said, closing his eyes.

Emily stared down at him, and then, slowly, she rested one hand on his hair. Reinhard noticed, and he didn’t say anything.

After a while, he opened his eyes. "Can I ask you something? Can I learn about my wife from my wife this time?" Emily blinked. "Instead of from strangers with phones?"

She smiled. "What do you want to know?"

Reinhard thought about it. "Your likes and dislikes."

Emily looked surprised. "My likes and dislikes?"

"Yeah," he said, looking up at her. "I realized something. I know a lot about your past. Your career, your strength, your Gnosis, the people you helped, and the men you verbally destroyed." Emily lightly swatted his head. "But I don’t know the simple things."

"Like what?"

"Your favorite food," he said, counting them off. "What you like doing, what you hate. Things like that."

Emily giggled. "Those are important?"

"To me?" He smiled. "Very."

Something warm settled into her expression. "Okay." She looked out at the garden. "Ask me."

Reinhard shifted his head more comfortably in her lap. "Let’s start easy." He thought for a moment. "What food do you like?"

"Pork."

"Pork?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Pie."

"I’m aware of the pie."

Emily laughed. "Sandwiches. Soda. Lemonade." She paused. "And smoothies."

Reinhard nodded solemnly. "A respectable list." He pointed at himself. "The smoothies are my influence."

"They were already on the list."

"Moved up the list, then."

Emily laughed. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"You asked me," she said, looking down at him. "So I want to know yours."

Reinhard smiled. "Burgers."

Emily nodded.

"Pizza."

Another nod.

"Salad."

Emily stopped. "Salad?"

"Don’t look so surprised."

"I didn’t think you’d say salad."

"I like trying new food." He paused. "Salad is very new to me. The old me mostly ate out of bottles."

Emily’s smile softened. "What don’t you like?"

Reinhard thought about it. "Waiting."

"That’s not food."

"I know," he said, closing his eyes. "Boredom."

"Anything else?"

His expression turned quieter. "I don’t like watching someone I care about suffer when I can’t do anything about it."

Emily’s smile faded, and her hand stopped moving through his hair.

Reinhard noticed immediately. He looked up and grinned. "But that’s enough serious stuff." He raised one finger. "I also hate not being allowed to tease people."

Emily laughed. "I knew that one was coming."

"And being called the Mirror guy."

Emily blinked. "The what?"

"Nothing."

"Reinhard."

"It’s nothing."

"People call you the Mirror guy?"

He sighed dramatically. "The entire auction house." He looked up at the sky, his expression solemn. "t’s deeply unfair."

Emily stared at him, and then she burst out laughing, and the harder she tried to stop, the worse it got. "The Mirror guy."

"I’m glad my suffering entertains you."

She laughed until tears came to her eyes, and Reinhard sighed. "I’m going to earn a better nickname." He closed his eyes. "You’ll see."

When Emily finally calmed down, Reinhard went on. "I also like dressing well."

"Obviously."

"I like looking good."

"Very obviously."

"I like mirrors." He paused. "Normal ones."

Emily gave him a confused look.

"Not the one that insults me."

"I have no idea what that means."

"Good," he said with a smile. "I also enjoy being arrogant."

Emily looked down at him. "I hate arrogant people."

Reinhard grinned. "But you love this arrogant one."

Emily stared at him, and then she laughed again. Reinhard noticed that she didn’t correct him.

For a long while, neither of them said anything as the morning sun slowly moved across the garden. Reinhard didn’t feel any need to hurry. He simply stayed there, his head resting in his wife’s lap while her fingers moved gently through his hair.

Then a familiar notification appeared.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

Reinhard’s smile faded, and he read the next line.

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

His eyebrow rose.

[Objective: Spend a meaningful day with Emily.]

[Difficulty Grade: C.]

[Success Probability: 91%.]

Reinhard read it again. Spend a meaningful day? That was the mission? He found himself wondering what could possibly make him fail, and then he decided he wasn’t going to find out.

He looked up at Emily, who was still smiling as she gazed across the garden, and his lips slowly curved upward. "Looks like I have something to do today."

Emily looked down at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said with a smile. "Let’s just enjoy the day."

Her expression softened. "Okay."

Reinhard closed his eyes and settled more comfortably against her. For once, he didn’t have to think about money, mysteries, or enemies. Today, he was simply spending time with his wife, and somehow, that was enough.