Chapter 35 Liquidation
After that embarrassing farce at the outdoor restaurant, Draven was indeed determined to end his messy romantic entanglements. For several days in a row, he acted like a thief, starting early in the morning figuring out how to get Alice, this "clingy little devil," off him so he could sneak out to run errands.
He came back looking terrible the first night; his face was covered with old handprints and fresh scratches, his lip was cut, and he was limping. It was obvious he hadn't gotten anywhere with the women. The next few days, however, he was much better and cleaner.
But Alice wasn't buying it. Ever since the first day she was left with Darius, every morning, as soon as Draven showed any sign of pulling her out of bed and taking her to his brother, she would immediately cling to him like a boneless creature, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck and whimpering, her red eyes blinking. Her pitiful expression made Draven feel like he was being scratched by a cat.
“Honey, be good, I’m just going out for a little while to take care of some important business…” he tried to reason with her.
Alice pouted, and tears were about to fall.
Seeing this, Draven knew that reasoning with her was useless. Having been around for so many years, he might not be good at much else, but dealing with women was a piece of cake for him. He chuckled, and his large hands, accustomed to wielding throwing axes, slipped restlessly inside his pajamas.
“Ugh… Little De…” Alice’s protest immediately turned into a soft whimper.
Draven pressed his advantage, pressing her down onto the bed. He was good in bed, and even better in stamina, going on and on until Alice was so exhausted she couldn't even lift a finger, and finally drifted off to sleep.
Seeing the person in his arms breathing steadily, sleeping like a little pig, Draven finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quietly got up, picked up the clean clothes prepared by the bedside, and clumsily but with extraordinary patience, dressed her. Putting on her underwear was especially difficult, and he almost got aroused again.
"Damn it..." he cursed under his breath, forcing himself to look away, and finally finished dressing her. Finally, he carefully wiped her face and hands with a damp towel to make sure she looked clean and refreshed.
Then, he wrapped her up tightly in a soft wool blanket, carried her to the car, and drove non-stop to the commander's mansion.
When he arrived at the door of the study in the commander's mansion, he was too lazy to knock. He simply used his toes to pry open a crack and squeezed in sideways.
Darius was reviewing documents and didn't even look up when he heard the noise, only his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Draven strode to the makeshift couch in the inner part of the study, carefully put Alice, who was wrapped up like a silkworm, down, and brushed the stray hairs from her cheeks.
After doing all this, he turned around and approached his brother's desk, lowered his voice, and wore that knowing, nonchalant smile on his face:
"Brother, could you watch it for one more day? Thanks!"
Darius finally raised his eyelids, gave him a cold glance, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment, and said in a completely indifferent tone: "What trouble are you going to cause these next few days?"
“Pshaw! What could it be?” Draven waved his hand, trying to downplay it. “Just breaking up with those women.” He paused, then added with a touch of self-righteous roguishness, “I can’t help it, I’m just too popular.”
Darius snorted coldly, no longer looking at him, and turned his gaze back to the documents: "Get this sorted out of the way quickly."
"I know, I know, it'll be done in a minute!" Draven chuckled, turned and left, but turned back at the door to add a worried note, "If she wakes up and throws a tantrum, you... you let her play by herself for a while, or have the lieutenant get her something sweet to eat, just to appease her!"
After saying that, Draven slipped away without waiting for his brother's response, quietly closing the door behind him.
Darius's gaze shifted from the documents to the soft couch. Alice, wrapped in a blanket, slept soundly, her silver hair spread across the pillow, a slight flush on her cheeks from exercise. He stared at her expressionlessly for a few seconds, then simply sighed and buried himself back into the endless documents.
Silence returned to the study, with only the soft scratching of a quill pen across parchment and the steady breathing of the person on the soft couch.
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Four days after the open-air restaurant incident, in the study of the Commander's Mansion.
Darius felt like he was being driven crazy.
He, the Hand of Noxus, the symbol of imperial power, was frowning at an urgent military intelligence report on the eastern border supply lines—not because of the report itself, but because of the constant, faint sobbing that seemed to be in the background.
Alice curled up in the thickly cushioned armchair that had been specially moved for her not far from his desk. She no longer woke up crying and making a fuss like she had the previous two days; she had evolved into a more sophisticated form of "cold violence"—silently shedding tears.
Her silvery-white head drooped, her shoulders heaving, and glistening tears fell like broken beads, leaving a small, dark, damp stain on her expensive dress. She didn't make a sound, she just cried, silently accusing some bastard of disappearing.
Darius tried to ignore it, but the faint sobs buzzed in his ears like mosquitoes, making it impossible for him to concentrate. He irritably put down his quill and rubbed his throbbing temples.
"..." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back. The day before yesterday, he inexplicably said "Don't cry," which directly triggered a floodgate. The earth-shattering crying almost blew the roof off. In the end, he had to endure the stiffness while she held his arm for a full ten minutes before he could barely calm down. Those ten minutes were more tiring than fighting a tough battle.
He waved his hand, gesturing to the adjutant standing beside him—not Tamara, that woman was shrewd; she'd already made an excuse to go on patrol. The adjutant understood instantly and immediately brought over a plate of freshly baked honey cakes, steaming hot and exuding an enticing sweet aroma, carefully placing them on the low table next to Alice.
"Miss Alice, look, it's freshly made, and it's so sweet." The adjutant tried his best to make his voice sound gentle and friendly.
Alice raised her teary, red eyes, glanced at the golden cake, sniffled, and then... cried even harder.
"don't want!……"
The adjutant: "..." He looked to the commander for help.
Darius waved him away expressionlessly. He stared at the military report he'd crumpled, feeling his blood pressure steadily rise. His brother Draven was a complete jerk! He'd gone off to deal with his own womanizing messes, leaving him with this hot potato! He'd rather be on the front lines clashing with Demacian cavalry than be stuck here with a crybaby who wouldn't stop crying!
afternoon.
Draven returned earlier than usual today, looking much cleaner and without any new injuries, indicating that the cleanup was nearing its end. A relieved look crossed his face as he pushed open the door, habitually spreading his arms and calling out in his slightly roguish yet deliberately softened voice:
"Honey! I'm back! Look what I brought you! A limited edition glowing bracelet!" He was waving an exquisite bracelet inlaid with colorful glowing gemstones in his hand.
However, the warm body that was expected to pounce on him did not appear.
Alice sat in a chair next to Darius's desk, her back to him, slowly fiddling with a cute, clumsy-looking plush toy that Darius's adjutant had bought. Hearing his voice, she paused briefly, then continued fiddling with it without turning around.
Draven's smile froze, and his heart skipped a beat. He put on an even brighter smile, walked around to face her, knelt down, and held the bracelet up to her face, waving it around:
"Look! How beautiful! It even changes color! Do you like it? I got it especially for you!"
Alice lowered her eyes, her long silver eyelashes covering her face like small fans. She didn't even glance at the bracelet, but just pursed her lips tightly and hugged the plush toy in her arms even tighter.
"What's wrong, honey? Who upset you?" Draven reached out to touch her hair.
Just as his fingers were about to touch her hair, Alice jerked her head away, dodging his hand.
Draven's hand froze in mid-air.
"Alice?" He was somewhat taken aback.
Alice still wouldn't look at him, but instead buried her face in her plush toy, expressing her attitude with two words that were thick with a nasal tone but exceptionally clear:
"……Hate."
Draven: "!!!"
Hate?
She actually said she hated it?
Draven was actually told "disgusting" by his little darling?!
"No...no, baby, let me explain..." Draven panicked a little and tried to hug her.
Alice, clutching her toy, suddenly shrank back and hid behind Darius's large solid wood desk, refusing to even look at him.
Darius looked up from the pile of documents, gave his brother a cold look, and said with rare sarcasm, "Have you settled your affairs? Looks like you've been so busy dealing with the ladies outside that you haven't thought about how to appease the one at home."
Draven glanced at his brother, then at Alice, who was clearly sulking with him, and finally realized—he had made a fatal mistake! His "disappearance" these past few days had been interpreted by Alice's innocent little mind as a series of "I don't want her anymore."
"I..." Draven opened his mouth, then looked at his brother, his tone a mix of whining and self-righteousness: "Brother, please keep an eye on things for me these next few days, coax her a bit, let her apply some patches, I'm really at a critical juncture here!"
Darius didn't even look up, continuing to review official documents, and said irritably, "You don't take care of your own woman, and you always expect me to? You have to take care of your own woman."
Draven was speechless for a moment, then his eyes darted around before he put on a sly grin that said, "I'll let you in on a secret." He leaned closer and lowered his voice, "I'm preparing for the wedding. We need to get married as soon as possible. Alice is pregnant."
Darius's hand trembled, and with a "snap," the pen snapped in two from his grasp! He jerked his head up, staring at Draven, his voice barely audible as he forced it out:
"What did you say?!"
Draven shrank back, then chuckled, a mix of smugness and unease in his eyes: "Heh...heh heh...surprised?...Our family has an heir!"
Darius took a deep breath, a vein throbbing slightly on his forehead. He almost gritted his teeth as he asked, "...How are the wedding preparations going..."
"Don't worry! It's all set!" Draven spoke rapidly. "The clothes are ordered, by the best tailor! The venue is chosen, Spirit Bank, it's impressive enough! Invitations will be sent out tomorrow morning!" He paused, then added decisively, "Seven days from now! We'll get started!"
Darius looked at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Are you really sure about this?"
Draven stiffened his neck: "Either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly!"
Darius looked at him, and finally just sighed deeply, with a sense of helplessness. He waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly: "...You'd better hurry up..."
Draven immediately put on his usual grinning face again: "Hehe, I'll have to trouble you again tomorrow, bro!" With that, he walked around the desk and reached behind Darius's chair to hug Alice.
"Let's go, baby, let's go home!"
Alice was suddenly picked up by him, and she instantly bristled, struggling desperately. Her little hands gripped the leather armrests of Darius's chair tightly, and she screamed in a tearful voice, "I don't want to! I won't go with you! Let go! Liar!"
Draven frantically scooped her up, bouncing and coaxing, "Good boy, listen to me, let's go home. There are lots of new toys at home, and a singing mechanical cat..."
"No! I won't listen! You're a bad person! You're gone! I hate you! I hate you the most!" Alice cried and kicked, making Draven's shin hurt.
The two struggled, one clinging tightly to the other, their crying, fussing, and rubbing against each other on chairs, turning the study into a chaotic marketplace. Darius was surrounded by the noise, his head buzzing, veins bulging.
Finally, when Alice bit Draven's arm and Draven let out a strange cry, Darius could no longer bear it and slammed his hand on the thick wooden table!
"Bang!"
The heavy solid wood desk made a loud bang, and even the ink bottle on the desk jumped.
The loud noise instantly stunned the two of them. Alice was so frightened that she choked on her sobs and let go of the handrail; Draven also stopped and looked at his brother.
Darius, his face ashen, stood up abruptly without a word, picked up the almost untouched dessert plate on the low table in front of him, and stuffed it into Alice's mouth without a word. Alice was startled and instinctively held the cake in her mouth with both of her small hands.
"Get him out of here right now," he said through gritted teeth to Draven.
Draven understood immediately, quickly picked up Alice, who was still sobbing but a little dazed while clutching the cake, and slipped out of the study in the Commander's Mansion without touching the ground.
Darius stood alone, staring at the pile of official documents on the table, and sighed deeply. That sigh was filled with helplessness towards his brother, who was always causing trouble. He raised his hand and rubbed his aching temples vigorously.
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