Chapter 414: Your opinion

Click.

Elena slowly pushed open the front door and cautiously peeked inside.

The house was entirely silent. Darkness and silence was something that caused her anxiety to rise.

It was already eight in the evening by the time Arthur had dropped her off at home. She had returned earlier than she expected, but despite her reluctance to stay longer, she had to return.

She had initially insisted on returning by herself, partly because she didn’t want to trouble Arthur any further. However, Kyle had pointed out that travelling alone would take considerably longer, and with every passing minute, her mother’s anxiety would only grow.

Well, Elena couldn’t argue with the latter.

Her mother was probably furious by now. In fact, given how late she was, there was little chance she would escape a proper scolding.

She had even tried calling her father for help, hoping he might somehow intervene on her behalf, but the man hadn’t picked up. That had only added another layer to her apprehension.

“Mom?” she called softly.

There was no response.

The house appeared relatively quiet, with only a few maids moving about their usual duties.

“Do I…”

“Shh!”

One of the maids had paused upon noticing her and was about to ask something, but Elena immediately brought a finger to her lips, silencing her with an unusually stern expression.

If her mother wasn’t in the living room, then perhaps…

Could it be that her father had taken the matriarch out for dinner or something?

A faint smile crept onto Elena’s face at the possibility.

That would explain why he hadn’t been answering his calls. Perhaps he was simply occupied with her mother.

And honestly, that would be the best possible outcome.

Elena decided not to waste such an opportunity. She knew she wouldn’t be able to escape the inevitable scolding, but if she could avoid it tonight, perhaps her mother’s anger would have subsided a little by tomorrow.

With that hopeful thought in mind, she quietly made her way upstairs.

All she wanted now was to change into something comfortable. The formal clothes she had been wearing all evening were beginning to feel unbearably restrictive.

However…

Click.

The moment Elena stepped into her room, every hopeful thought in her mind came to an abrupt halt.

The familiar sense of dread returned, settling over her like a heavy blanket.

Sitting right in the middle of her bed was the very woman she had been hoping to avoid.

And standing beside her was the man who was supposed to be her ally.

A soft smile adorned her mother’s face.

“Welcome back, Elena. Would you mind telling me where you’ve been?”

…Unfortunately, her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

‘I’m fucked.’

…

After dinner, the group of five gathered in the living room.

With the guests finally gone, the servants had begun cleaning up the garden and putting everything back in order. Only now could Ethan afford to take a moment to himself after spending the better part of the evening attending to one matter after another.

“Here, try this.”

Amanda, seated to Kyle’s left, picked up a cream-filled mushroom and brought it to his mouth. She had tried it earlier and absolutely loved it, so naturally, she wanted him to taste it as well.

Kyle hummed appreciatively after taking a bite. “It’s quite nice.”

Veronica let out a quiet sigh.

“Not just a few bites. You need to eat a proper meal.”

Her remark wasn’t without reason. Kyle had been so occupied with everything throughout the evening that he had barely touched his food. Even now, he seemed more interested in attending to everyone else’s needs than his own.

“I promise I’ll eat something in a while. But for now, may I ask for your opinions on them?”

His question drew everyone’s attention.

The three women exchanged glances. Two of them looked somewhat confused, while the third seemed uncertain whether she should be the one to speak.

Kyle noticed their hesitation and turned towards Ethan.

“Go on, Ethan. I’d like to hear how you perceived things.”

Ethan didn’t need further encouragement. He had already given the matter considerable thought, and when he spoke, his assessment was entirely sincere.

“Master, I believe they are unreliable. Not only because their strength is, at best, comparable to Commander Veronica’s, but also because they are rebellious and seem incapable of understanding the severity of the situation.”

Kyle hummed thoughtfully.

“I don’t disagree with your assessment of their strength. However, you should remember that Commander Veronica is among the strongest Nightwalkers in the world. Using her as a benchmark is practically acknowledging that they possess considerable strength themselves.”

Veronica’s cheeks warmed faintly.

Of all the times to receive such a straightforward compliment, it had to be in the middle of a serious discussion.

She lowered her gaze, a small smile threatening to form on her lips, and leaned a little further against him.

Amanda couldn’t help grinning at the sight.

It was always amusing to see how the same Commander Veronica, who naturally commanded attention wherever she went and carried herself with unquestionable authority, could turn into such a bashful maiden whenever Kyle was around.

“What’s your opinion, Arthur? Not about them, though. About what I just said.”

Arthur hummed thoughtfully. “My opinion of you?”

Kyle nodded.

“You’ll be leading a considerable number of warriors yourself, and I’ll be assigning a Sentinel to you as well. Consider yourself just another Apostle for a moment and tell me, do you think I’m expecting too much?”

Ethan immediately shot the blond man a sharp glare, his expression leaving little room for interpretation.

‘Choose your words wisely.’

Arthur, however, didn’t seem particularly bothered. He remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“May I make a suggestion first, my Lord?”

Kyle nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Please never entrust control of the Guardians to any of the Apostles, myself included.”

Kyle hummed, showing no immediate reaction to the suggestion. “And why is that?”

“The Guardians possess a level of strength that could easily make someone blind to everything else. Having access to something capable of dealing with virtually any level of threat would inevitably blur the line between duty and personal greed. Once someone experiences the convenience of having such power at their disposal, they might never want to part with it. Regardless of how they justify it, they would eventually find reasons to keep the Guardians close.”

Veronica found herself understanding his reasoning.

Imagine having a being at your disposal capable of slaughtering even a Special Grade within moments. It was difficult to imagine anyone willingly giving up such an advantage once they had grown accustomed to it.

Even someone with the best intentions might eventually begin making excuses to retain that power. And the more useful it became, the harder it would be to distinguish genuine necessity from simple greed.

Kyle nodded. “I understand. Besides, the Sentinels can’t obey anyone other than me in the first place.”

His response caught everyone by surprise.

“But you said you were going to hand them over?” Amanda asked, tilting her head.

Kyle revealed his intentions with a faint smile. “I only wanted to make them believe I was entrusting them with a significant responsibility. That way, they’d take the matter more seriously and feel accountable for what they’re being asked to do.”

Amanda grinned and nudged him playfully with her shoulder.

“Quite the schemer you’ve become, haven’t you?”

“You realized that only now?” Kyle replied with an amused smile.

He then turned his attention towards Arthur.

“For now, return to the base and start preparing for the Clone demonstration. You know what needs to be done, right?”

Arthur nodded. “Understood, my Lord.”

After bowing respectfully, he took his leave.

Kyle then shifted his attention to Ethan.

“If you’re tired, you can go and get some rest.”

Ethan immediately understood what his master was implying. After bowing to Kyle, he excused himself and left the living room as well.

With the others gone, only Veronica and Amanda remained.

Kyle glanced at the two women before asking, “What do you two have planned for tonight?”

Amanda immediately wrapped both hands around his arm.

“You know I don’t have anything planned. I’m on leave today.”

She had deliberately taken the day off to spend as much time as possible with her lover. After all, opportunities like these were becoming increasingly precious.

Veronica, on the other hand, merely shrugged, looking a little hesitant.

“I don’t have anything to do either…”

She wasn’t particularly opposed to spending the evening with them. However, she didn’t want to intrude if Amanda and Kyle had already made plans of their own.

Kyle seemed to understand her hesitation. With a faint smile, he nodded.

“Good, then. Let’s go. I want to show you two something.”

The next thing they know, they were within the confines of the Temple.