After dinner, Charlotte Lane went to see Silver Palace again.
Arthur North and Hugo Clark discussed some matters, but as soon as they were finished, they couldnât find her.
They asked Thomas Firway and found out she went to see Silver Palace.
When Arthur found her, Charlotte was sitting on the ground cross-legged, hugging Silver Palace and staring blankly.
Charlotte didnât react to the sound of his footsteps, but Silver Palace looked up at him warily.
Arthur North interpreted the unfriendly meaning from Silver Palaceâs eyes, but it only looked at him without making any aggressive moves.
Anyway, this wolf⦠In all these years with Dark Radiance, he had grown accustomed to its attitude towards him.
Arthur ignored its glare, walked behind Charlotte, and patted her head: âWhat are you thinking about? The ground is cold.â
Charlotteâs eyelashes trembled slightly, âItâs not cold.â
Since she didnât get up, Arthur crouched down, turned Silver Palaceâs head to the side, and kissed Charlotteâs cheek, âWhatâs on your mind?â
âIâm thinking about how to convince you to let me sleep with Silver Palace tonight.â Charlotte looked at him and said softly.
âNo way.â Arthur North rejected her very firmly, âNo convincing will work.â
âStingy.â Charlotte said, âItâs just a wolf.â
âBut itâs a male.â Arthur held her chin, pinched her face, and said fiercely, âItâs already very generous of me to let you hug it.â
After saying that, Arthur stood up and pulled her up, âAlright, letâs go.â
Silver Palace suddenly stood up, stumbled a bit, and looked even more ferocious at Arthur.
Arthur glared back at it, then took Charlotteâs hand and left.
They walked about ten meters before slowing down.
âThird Uncleâ¦â
âShut up.â
Charlotte laughed out loud.
Arthur gently squeezed her hand: âAnd youâre still laughing.â
Charlotte poked his side with her other hand: âAre all men in their thirties like this?â
Arthur suddenly stopped, let go of her hand, and looked at her sideways.
He felt that the little girl was very polite for not adding the word âoldâ in front of âman.â
Charlotte looked at Arthur.
The warm yellow street lamp behind him cast both light and shadows on him.
There was a hint of unspecified danger in the playful depths of his eyes, as if he melded into the darkness of night.
âLittle girlâ¦â
Charlotte raised her eyebrows, waiting for the next sentence.
But after waiting for a while, Arthur suddenly picked her up and let her sit on a nearby railing.
He stood between her legs, holding her around the waist, and looked up at her slightly, âLittle girl, whatâs our relationship?â
Charlotte looked down at him, pondering, and then said, âUncleâ¦â
Before she could say ânephew,â Arthur interrupted her: âWeâre husband and wife.â
âOh.â Charlotte said softly.
Arthurâs other hand at the back of her neck pulled her down, kissed her lips, and released her, âSo thereâs no need to pretend in front of me. You can tell me if youâre not happy or have any problems.â
He knew that the little girl could either be simply playful or trying to shift her emotions so as not to affect the people around her, so she could be particularly nasty and irritating when she spoke.
Charlotte glanced at him, and after a while, she said, âI just said it.â
Arthur immediately replied, âSleeping with Silver Palace is not negotiable, donât mention it.â
Charlotte: ââ¦â¦â
âEveryoneâs pursuit and beliefs are different,â Kevin Clark clasped her hand, âEveryone has their own choices which we canât really change. For him, thatâs his life, and we can only accept his choices.â
After listening, Charlotte Lane remained silent for a while before saying, âI donât want to doubt him.â
âLittle girl, like I said,â Kevin Clark explained, âevery one of us is under suspicion. You donât need to feel guilty about doubting anyone.â
Charlotte said nothing.
âStop burdening yourself with all this.â
Charlotte remained silent for a moment before giving a response.
â¦
That evening, Charlotte went to bed late, so she also woke up late the next day.
After washing up, she came downstairs to see Hugo Clark and Amelie Quentin playing Go in the living room.
She watched Amelie Quentin take back her move while Hugo pretended not to notice.
âSister, youâre awake?â
âMm.â Charlotte took a glance around the living room and asked, âWhere is everybody else?â
âSome went on missions, others went to the Martial Arts Arena for training.â Amelie took away one of Hugoâs pieces, replaced it with her own, winning the game, then stood up and said, âThird Uncle and Brother went to the Meeting Room. Sister, thereâs porridge in the kitchen. Itâs delicious.â
Amelie accompanied Charlotte to the restaurant and ate another half bowl with her.
After their meal, Charlotte and Amelie played for a while before going to look for Kevin and the others.
When she reached the entrance of the Meeting Room, she knocked on the door twice before opening it.
Thatâs when she saw Kevin Clark and William Lane âembracingâ each other.
Kevin had one hand pressed against Williamâs chest while William gripped Kevinâs shirt tightly with his other hand. Kevinâs other hand was holding the wrist of the hand gripping his shirt.
The two men were very close.
And the Meeting Room was a total mess.
Chairs were overturned and toppled, the conference table was askew, and several paintings had fallen from the walls.
They had probably been fighting for a while.
Neither of them appeared injured as they didnât go all out, but the Meeting Room was in a sorry state.
When they heard the door opening, they both looked towards it, then froze as they saw Charlotte standing there.
Charlotte hesitated for a few seconds, then took a step back, saying as she prepared to close the door, âSorry for interrupting, you two can continue.â
Kevin Clark and William Lane both gave each other a push, then walked towards the door.
âLittle Girl.â
âCharlotte.â
The two of them pulled open the closed door and brought Charlotte, who was still standing outside, into the Meeting Room.
The door was closed again.
The three of them stood in the room, falling into a strange silence.
After a while, Charlotte was the first to speak, saying softly, âItâs my fault for interfering in your relationship.â
William Lane: ââ¦â¦â
Kevin gently flicked her forehead, âStop talking nonsense.â
Charlotte raised her eyebrows, walked into the Meeting Room, straightened a chair, sat down, and said, âAre you done fighting? Do you need me to mediate?â
âHow do you plan to mediate?â Kevin asked with interest.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYou guys can fight again.â
William Lane and Kevin Clark both laughed.
Charlotte didnât want to get involved in their affairs. She guessed it might be because of her, but with the level of their fights, she didnât think it necessary to interfere. She said, âI have to return to the Hundred Demons Pavilion. You guys should settle your issues before I come back.â
âIâll take you there,â Kevin offered.
âNo need, James Collins is driving, just let him drop me off on his way.â
â¦