Chapter 281 - 280: It’s a Leogryph, Not Garlic Paste

"I’m ba—"

Caleb Lowell had just changed his shoes and stepped into the living room when he froze in his tracks.

Seriously, the room was full of people. Everyone was here except for him.

Why hadn’t a single person told him beforehand that this legendary "little pet" was a massive lion, unleashed, uncaged, and perfectly capable of swallowing him in one bite?!

Were all his younger brothers useless?!

Heaven knows how much effort it took for him to keep his expression as neutral as ever.

The Useless Younger Brothers: Stop whining. Weren’t we busy trying to win its affection? Who has time to remember you, our personal ATM?

"Come in and sit. What are you standing there stunned for? Our Leogryph is so well-behaved. It’s not going to do anything to you," Old Mr. Lowell said, glancing at him coolly.

’Right. So I guess I’m the one who’s hard of hearing. They said Leogryph... not... garlic dip, right?!’

Caleb Lowell was stuck. He couldn’t move, but he couldn’t stay still either. He instinctively looked toward the Leogryph’s owner, his younger sister, Yvonne Lowell.

Yvonne Lowell gave him a reassuring look, silently mouthing, "Get over here. Don’t be a coward."

Caleb Lowell couldn’t stop his lips from twitching. ’So, whoever raised it isn’t the coward, is that it?!’

’Have usurpation tactics gotten this blatant and hardcore these days? If you want my spot, just say so! I’ll give it to you! I never wanted the job in the first place!!’

Fine... Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.

Besides, with every eye in the living room now fixed on him, it was no longer a question of being a coward or not.

This was about his pride and dignity as the eldest grandson, eldest son, and eldest brother of the Lowell family—and its future leader.

Caleb Lowell decided to just walk over and sit down. At least that way, if something happened, he could take someone down with him and give his sister one less competitor.

Yvonne Lowell: ...Thanks?

Everyone else: Wow, you’re such a nice guy.

Zachary Jacobs: Don’t thank him yet! I’m sitting next to him, and I don’t even have any inheritance rights!

Old Mr. Lowell said to the Leogryph, "This is your eldest maternal uncle. He just got home from the office and will be joining you for dinner."

The Leogryph tilted its head, sizing Caleb Lowell up.

’This eldest uncle has a different vibe from those pushovers earlier. He’s not on Maternal Great-Grandfather’s level, but he seems about as strong as my good-for-nothing stepfather.’

’He came back from the "company," too. My good-for-nothing stepfather also goes to the "company" every day. Is the "company" like, a place where they go to breathe or something?’

’So, should I go over and suck up to him?’

Seeing it seem to hesitate, Charles Lowell was suddenly in the mood for some drama and said teasingly,

"Leogryph, he’s going to be our family’s Head, the big boss. In the future, he’ll be the one calling the shots around here. Don’t you want to go say hello?"

He wanted to see just how smart the Leogryph was and how it would treat a Caleb Lowell who had been introduced with so many prestigious titles.

Would it treat him like it treated them, or like it treated the younger ones?

"ROAR!" ’The big boss! I definitely have to suck up to him!’

’I don’t know what a "Family Head" is, but I definitely know what "big boss" means! A boss is like my mommy at Moonshadow! Super impressive!’

With that thought, the Leogryph started walking toward him, and everyone’s gaze followed.

They were also curious to see what the Leogryph would do.

Caleb Lowell: Don’t you come over here!

The other Lowell brothers: Pat his knee! It has to be the knee! Only the knee!

Unfortunately, the brothers’ silent prayers went unanswered. The Leogryph extended its right forepaw to Caleb Lowell.

"ROAR!" ’Come on, Uncle! Accept this token of Suan Suan’s affection.’

"What the hell! How can you be such a snob?! We’re all uncles, so how come he gets to shake your hand?!"

Adrian Lowell looked at the big lion with a pained expression. ’It’s just a kid, younger than me! Why can’t its heart be purer? Why can’t it just treat everyone equally?!’

What kind of lion acts like this? A total sycophant, an opportunist, a bootlicker, a brown-noser, judging everyone by their status!!!

’And a man of his stature, the great Adrian, why couldn’t he be the one it was brown-nosing?! He’d even give it one of his LEGO sets, for crying out loud!’

Caleb Lowell raised an eyebrow. ’Sounds like I’m the exception, huh?’ He suddenly understood the point of that long-winded spiel his father had just given.

Charles Lowell: ...That kid’s got quite a potty mouth.

Caleb Lowell shot a seemingly nonchalant glance at his brothers, then shook the Leogryph’s paw.

"Hello, Leogryph."

"ROAR!" ’Good, good, all good! It’s only really good when everyone is good!’

Zachary Jacobs repeated what had just been said, also wanting to mock the other brothers.

Hearing this, Caleb Lowell cautiously placed his hand on its head.

Seeing no sign of resistance, he dared to take the next step.

And wow, the moment his hand started moving, it was as if a switch had been flipped inside him. It was surprisingly addictive!

Question Grandpa, understand Grandpa, become Grandpa, surpass Grandpa.

The sight made the other brothers burn with envy again. In this family, if Caleb Lowell was around, there was no place for them!

Caleb Lowell: Oh. Well, you can leave then. I won’t see you out.

Looking at the big, shy lion waiting to be petted, Old Mr. Lowell stood up and said, "Time to eat. Come here, Leogryph. Maternal Great-Grandfather will take you to have some meat."

’What’s so interesting about following that kid? It’ll be a long time before he’s the one in charge of this family!’

"ROAR!" ’Coming, coming! Little Suan Suan is coming!’

Leogryph the Sycophant immediately switched targets and trotted over to Old Mr. Lowell.

Yvonne Lowell was completely numb. The precious son she had raised for three years felt like a complete stranger to her at this moment.

She also felt that her family’s reaction was a little too enthusiastic, leaving her at a loss. ’Is this what they call skipping-a-generation affection and skipping-two-generations affection?’

In the end, Yvonne Lowell and the Leogryph stayed at the old family estate for the better part of two weeks. The other brothers did the same.

Caleb Lowell and Frank Lowell would rather wake up earlier for work every day than miss out on commuting back and forth from the estate.

Not to mention the unemployed ones, who showed up in front of the Leogryph right on time every day, as if they were clocking in for a job.

It made Old Mr. Lowell so angry he was fuming every day. Did they really think he wanted to see this gaggle of grandsons?!

Fortunately, aside from Yvonne Lowell, the Leogryph’s favorite person to follow around each day was him, which offered him a small bit of consolation.

When they were finally about to leave, Old Mr. Lowell looked completely heartbroken, giving the Leogryph a long list of instructions, wishing he could just keep the "child" there.

Yvonne Lowell, on the other hand, only got a single sentence: "Drive carefully. Be safe."

’What was that about? Was he worried I’d drive too fast and jostle his precious great-grandson?!’

’She’d gone from being the family favorite to an orphan for fifteen years. It had been less than a year since she went from orphan back to family favorite, and now she was an orphan again because of the precious son she herself had raised?!’