AHEIAID Chapter 35: If You Want to Date, Stop Learning Foreign Languages
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It's over.
He's doomed.
Caught red-handed touching another man's chest, Joey shrank his neck as his "dad" dragged him back with a dark expression.
Apart from the last time there was a misunderstanding, he'd never seen Garius this angry before.
Even the way he closed the door seemed heavier than usual. After that, he sat at his desk exuding a frosty aura, working in complete silence without sparing Joey a single glance.
Joey sat on the side, trembling with fear, regretting his actions as he smacked his own hands.
Serves you right for being thirsty!
Now look what happened! Next time, he'll probably chop your hands off!
With his hands red from smacking, Joey carefully tiptoed to Garius’s desk in the increasingly silent and freezing office. Resting his hands and chin on the edge, he peeked at him cautiously.
"Uhm… Garius, are you mad…?"
"No."
The man didn’t even lift his head, his cold, handsome face resembling an indifferent deity, answering with a curt and firm tone.
Joey might be a coward, but he wasn’t dumb. People who were truly angry usually wouldn't admit it. Thinking for a moment, he hesitantly muttered:
"Then… I'll go play with Joseph…"
The moment he finished speaking—
SNAP!
The steel pen in Garius's hand pierced straight through a stack of papers! The force was so strong that it didn’t stop there—it stabbed right into the heavy metal desk, sinking in like it was tofu!
"……"
Joey's eyes slowly moved from the now-destroyed pen to Garius’s face.
His "dad" had finally lifted his eyelids.
A pair of golden-green eyes, sharp as blades, locked onto him.
"Gulp."
Joey swallowed hard.
The icy, dagger-like gaze felt like it was slicing through his retinas, making him imagine his blood vessels freezing over, bit by bit!
"Be good."
Garius’s voice was calm.
"Don't go."
"Y-yes… yes!"
Joey nodded like a pecking chick. "I'm good! I'll definitely be good!"
Damn it, if being "good" means avoiding the afterlife, who the hell dares to disobey?!
The cowardly pup hung his head low, walking away like a scolded child toward his little corner, completely unaware that as soon as he turned his back, Garius pinched the bridge of his nose. The coldness in his eyes was replaced by a complicated mix of emotions.
Garius felt guilty.
Under his watch, this little human had been injured, fallen ill, and even got threatened by that overly obsessive prince. He really shouldn't have scared Joey any further, nor should he have imposed his obsessive control over work onto this fragile, obedient creature, preventing him from going out and making friends.
But at the same time, Garius was furious.
He was furious that Joey had been threatened. He was uncomfortable whenever Joey was out of his sight. And when he saw Joey grinning as he placed his hands on another man's chest with such intimate familiarity—Garius felt his own rationality teetering on the edge of collapse!
"Didn't you say you only wanted me? Then what the hell are you doing?!"
The bond between master and pet, their intimate interactions—like warm water—had seeped into his world of ice and snow, spreading into every crevice and gradually taking over his heart, which had been made of solid ice.
And now that Garius had grown accustomed to this… now that he had unconsciously come to see Joey as his own—every single hint of departure from Joey became intolerable.
Worse yet, he found himself resenting Joey's closeness to others… Such selfish thoughts made the ever-disciplined Garius frown in disapproval at himself.
"Anger clouds judgment and rational thinking."
Garius stared at the broken steel pen, silently warning himself.
But then, suddenly, a voice deep inside him questioned:
"Isn’t love, by nature, selfish?"
Joey was scratching his head, racking his brain on how to appease his dad, when his system suddenly chimed.
Then, his affection points skyrocketed as if they were on a roller coaster gone haywire:
【Congratulations, Host! Garius Heine's favorability +1! Current value: 70.】
【Garius Heine's favorability -1. Dropped back to 69. Keep working hard!】
【Congratulations, Host! Garius Heine's favorability +1! Current value: 70.】
【Garius Heine's favorability -1. Dropped back to 69. Keep working hard!】
【Congratu—】
For a while, the system kept going ding ding ding in a loop, the numbers fluctuating back and forth in a frenzy. Before Joey even had time to react, it was bouncing at its most chaotic rate.
By the time he snapped out of it, all he saw was one last notification indicating another increase.
Holy shit, did I break the affection meter?!
Joey was utterly dumbfounded. His mind was instantly flooded with countless thoughts—was this related to his earlier bad premonition? What happens when it breaks? Would it open some kind of "new world" mode?!
"What’s going on, System?!"
The system hesitated, equally baffled: 【Uh… Favorability fluctuating like this usually means the target’s emotions are going through extreme turmoil.】
Hearing this, Joey turned to glance at Garius—who was currently replacing his broken pen and working with his usual focus.
Joey was full of question marks. "Extreme turmoil? You sure?"
Because no matter how he looked at him, Garius did not seem like a man emotionally conflicted.
【Well…】
The system stammered for a while but failed to offer a solid explanation. Meanwhile, another ding echoed in Joey’s mind, notifying him that his favorability had dropped again.
Joey: ???
What the hell is going on?
As Joey stood there in a daze, staring absentmindedly at Garius, the fluctuations in favorability began slowing down—but it was still bouncing between 69 and 70, making the system's usual electronic tone sound oddly… hesitant.
It was exactly like imagining Garius, with his usual serious face, standing before the metaphorical "new world" door—lifting a foot to step in, then pulling it back… lifting it again, then retreating once more… until he was just inching forward, bit by bit, with extreme caution.
Pfft—
Joey let out an ill-timed laugh, suddenly finding the image of Garius in this scenario… kind of adorable?
His nervousness melted away as he became more intrigued, now idly counting how many times Garius’s emotions fluctuated—completely unaware of the terrifying shift about to take place in that "fatherly love."
And as the system had guessed, despite appearing fully focused on his work, Garius was actually preoccupied with an entirely different realization.
The moment that thought had popped into his mind, it was as if a veil had been lifted—like clearing away the fog to finally see the path ahead.
He finally understood the reason behind his increasingly erratic behavior.
And at the same time, he was utterly shocked and torn.
"Could it be… have I fallen in love with Joey?"
Even just thinking this in his own mind filled Garius with disbelief.
He tried to analyze why he would develop such emotions and desires for his own pet—only to realize, in retrospect, that every interaction between him and this little human could serve as a reason.
From the gentle forehead kisses and sleeping on separate beds with separate blankets…
To shy, stolen kisses and sharing one bed but still with two blankets…
And then to passionate, desperate kisses, where only sleeping in each other's embrace felt secure…
Looking back now, with this new perspective—Garius realized that he and Joey had long since crossed the boundary of mere master and pet.
In fact, there was even one time…
After a particularly deep kiss, Garius had held Joey face-to-face, fingers threading through his soft, slightly wavy black hair, pressing lingering kisses down his flushed cheeks, moving lower and lower…
If it weren’t for Joey’s flustered protests stopping him—what would he have done?
What more would I have done?
Back then, Garius had only acted on instinct.
But looking at it now, from this new angle—his behavior had completely overstepped its bounds. It was overwhelmingly intimate.
Joey getting close to the Crown Prince hadn’t made Garius fall for him.
It had simply been the spark that lit the fuse.
And all the little moments leading up to it were what truly set off the explosion.
As his mind reeled from the realization, Garius’s sharp senses picked up Joey’s curious gaze drifting toward him.
And for the first time in his life—Lord Heine, who never flinched in the face of the greatest crises, felt his entire back stiffen.
He thought:
"He’s so innocent—there’s no way he understands these filthy thoughts. I’m just someone who raised and cared for him. I shouldn’t have such ideas."
But then another thought crept in:
"Just because Joey doesn’t understand doesn’t mean others won’t. What if, one day, this obedient little thing meets someone else and gets led astray… and secretly tastes the forbidden fruit behind my back…?"
The ever-righteous and impartial Prosecutor General pursed his lips tightly.
For the first time, he found his moral compass… tipping toward selfishness.
After a long silence, Garius finally put down his pen and looked up.
"Joey."
"Huh?"
Joey snapped out of his daze.
Garius put down his pen and stared at him with an unreadable expression, though a glimmer of light flickered in his eyes. "What is your wish?"
"Uh..." Why ask that?
Joey had no idea why his father’s thoughts jumped so drastically. But... considering the sudden increase in affection and his own mission, could this be like reaching the final stage of a game where you get to make a wish as a reward?
Make a request and have it granted?
【Host, this is a golden opportunity!】 The system was even more excited than Joey, urging him enthusiastically. 【Quick, say you want a wife, have kids, and settle down!】
"How could I even say a difficult word like 'wife'..." Besides, I only want kids, not a wife. Isn't there some kind of genetic cultivation program for that?
Joey muttered to himself, then straightened up under Garius’s increasingly intense gaze. In Ottoman, he carefully said, "Uh... wish is... uh... child, children."
Garius: …
Seeing his father's slight change in expression, Joey felt a bit embarrassed.
He figured that having kids must be really expensive and involve a lot of complicated procedures—maybe that’s why Garius looked so conflicted.
Thinking this, he became even more bashful and guilty. Hesitating, he held up two fingers in a “V” sign and shyly added, "Preferably... two."
Is that okay?
After he finished speaking, the man across from him fell into silence.
Joey held up his fingers for a long while before awkwardly lowering them, quickly trying to smooth things over. "It's fine if not! I know it's, uh, difficult... what's the word for 'difficult' again? Anyway, just in the future—"
"You can."
As Joey was racking his brain for words, Garius’s serious expression suddenly melted into something impossibly gentle. His golden-green eyes seemed to carve Joey’s image into his heart as he gazed at him deeply. His voice was soft and low:
"You can. I'll let you have two."
"... R-Really?" You mean you'll actually arrange for this difficult thing?!
Joey’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Garius saw his reaction and smiled, nodding. "Yes."
"Wow!! Garius, you're amazing!!! Hahaha—"
Joey was so overjoyed that he launched himself at Garius, leaping up and wrapping his arms around him, showering his cold face with excited kisses.
He thought—how could Garius be this kind? This warm?
He had clearly made him angry just now, yet Garius was still willing to spend money to find someone to cultivate babies for him! What kind of fallen angel was this?!
He was a saint!
A super amazing saint!
Garius held the enthusiastic little human in his arms, feeling warmth blossom in his heart.
He had originally thought that if Joey’s wish was simply for a peaceful and comfortable life, depending on him forever, then he would continue being his "father" indefinitely.
But he never expected Joey to wish for two children.
If that’s what he wants... then I can grant it!
And take the role that comes with it—without hesitation!
T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊
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