Chapter 255: Two Universal Never Do

After an emotional rollercoaster of a dinner, the family left the restaurant, making their way back to the inn.

Chloe was walking ahead, her cheeks slightly puffed and her arms crossed. Vlad kept a distance of a metre as he followed her, his hands inside the pockets of his trousers.

Edren and Elaria were further behind, obviously worried about what had happened between the two when they had left them alone.

Once the lift of their inn opened and they reached the hallway leading to their room, Elaria and Edren exchanged silent glances, as if exchanging a secret message.

Elaria moved forward and grabbed Chloe’s arm. "Come with me."

She took Chloe inside the room before she could even respond.

At the same time, a hand rested on Vlad’s shoulder.

"Let’s have a man-to-man talk," Edren said, pointing at the neighbouring room.

---

Vlad had barely sat down on the chair when Edren grabbed his bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

He took two glasses from the cupboard and proudly placed them on the table along with the bottle.

"What are you doing?" Vlad asked, his eyes narrowing at the one extra glass.

"You are an adult now," Edren said with a smirk as he took the seat on the other side of the table. "It’s time you share your first drink with your father."

"If Mom finds out about it, even the Legendary Knight himself won’t be able to save you," Vlad stated. He couldn’t tell whether Edren was truly fearless or had already given up on living.

Edren immediately flinched at his words, a flicker of fear appearing on his face. "Are you going to tell her?" he demanded with narrowed eyes.

Before Vlad could answer, Edren had already poured the golden drink into the two glasses, only stopping once they were half-filled.

He pushed one glass towards Vlad with a wink. Vlad simply released a sigh, giving up.

The table was already filled with the strong aroma of caramel emanating from the golden drink.

"Giving neat whiskey to a first-timer," Vlad muttered, grabbing the glass. "You really overestimate me, Dad."

"Am I?" Edren asked, raising his glass towards Vlad.

’I have eaten the Panacea Pill on the first floor of the Ascension Dungeon,’ Vlad murmured inwardly. ’I can’t get intoxicated by the whiskey.’

He raised his glass and lightly tapped it against Edren’s in a toast.

The duo brought their glasses to their lips. Vlad had only taken a sip when Edren continued, "It’s better that you drink with me than drinking alone."

"You mean?" Vlad asked, his brows furrowing at the strong taste of the drink on his tongue.

"I understand, son," Edren said, leaning forward and tapping his shoulder in pity. "Getting rejected by your childhood friend must hurt quite a lo—"

"Pfffffttt!!!"

The whiskey from Vlad’s mouth sprayed across Edren’s face as his statement caught Vlad completely off guard.

"What gave you the idea that Chloe rejected me?" Vlad demanded, placing the glass back on the table. Even though he wouldn’t get drunk, he really didn’t like its strong taste.

Edren dragged a hand down his damp face, barely holding himself back from beating this brat who had just wasted his most expensive whiskey.

With a calm voice, as a responsible parent should, he asked what was all this about him being slammed onto the table.

---

Bonk!

"You idiot!" Edren snapped, landing a punch on Vlad’s head. He couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

"Agh... what gives?" Vlad muttered, holding his head. For some reason, Edren’s punches still hurt just as much as they always had.

"Ask that to yourself, you brat!" Edren growled, already tightening his fist for another punch. "The moment she confessed, you did the ’Never Do’ with her."

"Never Do?" Vlad asked, rubbing his stinging head.

Edren released a sigh. Vlad didn’t even know the Two Universal Never Do’s.

Edren’s face turned serious as he declared, raising one finger, "Etch this into your mind, Vlad. The first rule of the Two Universal Never Do’s. Never ask or comment on a lady’s age."

He raised another finger as he continued, "Never do or say anything that directly or indirectly calls a lady fat."

"Eh? But why?" Vlad asked, tilting his head. He couldn’t understand why Edren was making such a fuss about something as mundane as this.

"Because a lady is most sensitive about these topics," Edren explained, leaning back in his chair. "Now, do you understand why Chloe got so angry?"

"But I didn’t call her fat..." His words stopped mid-sentence as he remembered that what he had done was basically even worse than calling her fat. The moron had literally played with her chubby belly.

"I really screwed up big time," Vlad sighed, facepalming.

"Exactly!" Edren just shook his head in disappointment, chugging down his glass.

Vlad rose from his seat, reached behind Edren, and asked while massaging his shoulders, "Tell me what I should do, Dad?"

Edren gave it a brief thought, checking through the priceless knowledge of an experienced husband that he had accumulated over the years through numerous close-death encounters.

His crimson eyes brightened with something sly and playful as he declared, "I can set the stage for you."

He looked up at Vlad, his eyes demanding an answer as he continued, "It’s up to you how you use this opportunity."

"I will do my best, Dad," Vlad declared, every syllable laced with determination.

"Fine then," Edren rose from the chair, grabbing Vlad’s glass of whiskey and slowly swirling the drink inside it. "It’s time to save your first relationship crisis."

---

"That idiot!" Elaria sighed, facepalming. "How can he touch your tummy like that?"

"Stupid Vlad," Chloe muttered, resting her head on Elaria’s shoulder. The duo were sitting on the bed, their backs resting against the headboard. Chloe had just revealed to Elaria why she was angry at Vlad.

Chloe looked up at Elaria with her pale lavender eyes as she asked, "Mama, am I really fat?"

"Of course not!" Elaria’s response came instantly. She was about to comfort the poor girl further when a heavy knock came from the door.

"I will check," Chloe said as she rose from the bed and walked towards the door.

She opened the door, finding Edren standing there.

"Vlad..." he murmured, worry evident on his face.

Elaria immediately rose from the bed, reaching the entrance with quick steps.

"What happened to Vlad?" both Chloe and Elaria demanded simultaneously.

"He was very sad because Chloe was angry at him," Edren revealed with a deep sigh, shaking his head. "I tried to comfort him with a glass of drink."

Elaria’s expression immediately darkened, her black eyes dangerously narrowing at Edren, sending shivers down his spine.

Despite the fear, he continued, "But he grabbed the whole bottle and emptied it in one motion before I could stop him. Now, he is totally drunk, demanding to meet Chloe. He isn’t listening to me at all."

The glare on Elaria’s face vanished as she realised what Edren was doing.

"Oh, he must be really sad, my poor boy," Elaria added from behind, sounding genuinely worried.

"Vlad..." Chloe murmured, feeling guilty now. She immediately bolted out and entered the neighbouring room.

"Mission successful!" Edren laughed as he high-fived Elaria, the duo snickering. "Now it’s all up to that brat."

"I didn’t know my hubby was so smart," Elaria teased, ruffling Edren’s hair as she rose onto her toes.

The smile vanished from Edren’s face, his crimson eyes fixing on Elaria’s serene figure.

Elaria immediately understood the intent behind his intense gaze.

She tugged the strands of her hair back as she murmured, "We can’t. The children are next room—"

He suddenly pulled her closer by the waist and pressed his lips against hers.

She was momentarily taken back but soon responded with the same intensity, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He pulled her up by the thighs, his lips never leaving hers as he entered the room and closed the door behind him with his leg.