Chapter 260: Why Were You With Aria?!

Raiden stepped through the gate and onto his farmland, and for the first time in a week, he felt like he could finally breathe.

The familiar smell of soil, grass, and sheep manure hit him all at once, and honestly, after spending days surrounded by blood, burning forests, and people trying to murder him, it was the most beautiful smell in the world.

"Home sweet home," he muttered, dropping his bag onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Woolie didn’t even wait for him to finish speaking.

The moment his hooves touched familiar dirt, his eyes snapped open and his whole body perked up like he had just been plugged into a power socket.

"Woolie Woo!!" Everyone!! Your Emperor is back home!!!

He launched himself out of Raiden’s arms and hit the ground running, tearing across the field at full speed with his wool bouncing wildly and violet sparks crackling around his horns.

"Woolie!!" Raiden shouted after him, but the little sheep was already gone, kicking up dirt and grass as he ran through the berry trees, through the vast fields, through the small pond, and straight into a fence post.

THUD.

Woolie broke through the fence post, shook his head, and kept running like nothing had happened.

Raiden watched him go with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"He’s been asleep for a week, and the first thing he does is destroy a fence post."

"Hiss..." Rose lifted her head from Raiden’s neck, watching Woolie with fond exasperation.

That’s big brother for you.

"Sha Sha!!" Neva bounced excitedly on Raiden’s shoulder.

Big brother is so happy!!

"Yeah, yeah." Raiden shook his head with a smile. "Let him have his fun."

Rose and Neva, meanwhile, had no interest in running around. The moment they spotted a sunny patch of grass near the farmhouse, they both made a beeline for it.

Rose uncoiled from Raiden’s neck and slithered down onto the warm grass, stretching her body out in a long, contented line. Her golden eyes half-closed as she soaked up the sunlight.

"Hiss..." This is the life. (??? ?ω? ???)

Neva hopped down beside her and flopped onto her back, all eight limbs spread out in a starfish pattern.

"Sha Sha..." Sun is nice. Neva likes sun. (?≧?▽?≦?)

The two of them lay there in comfortable silence, occasionally shifting slightly to catch a better angle of the sun, looking for all the world like a pair of retired old ladies enjoying their afternoon.

Raiden shook his head with a smile.

"Lazy bunch."

"Raiden!!"

A voice called out from the farmhouse, and Raiden turned to see his sister Sylvia standing at the door, her hands on her hips and an expression on her face that was equal parts relief and annoyance.

"You’re back!!" she called out, jogging over. "Where the hell have you been?! You disappeared for a week without saying anything, and only leaving a note behind that told me you went on some kind of ’work trip’ but wouldn’t tell me anything else!!"

Raiden scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that. It was... work stuff."

"Work stuff?!" Sylvia’s eyes narrowed. "You disappear for a week, come back with a bunch of new scratches on your arms, and all you can say is ’work stuff’?! What does "work stuff" even mean? You are a farmer here!! How complicated can your work be??"

"It was complicated."

"Complicated how?!"

"Just... complicated."

Sylvia stared at him for a long moment, clearly unconvinced, but eventually she sighed and threw her hands up.

"Fine. Don’t tell me. See if I care." She turned and started walking back toward the house. "I was just about to make lunch, actually. You’re just in time."

Raiden’s face went pale.

"Wait. You’re cooking?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Sylvia." Raiden’s voice turned very calm as he grabbed her shoulders. "Last time you cooked, you burned down half the kitchen."

"That was one time!!"

"It was multiple times."

"The first two didn’t count!!"

"The second one involved getting a new wall for our home ."

"The third one was an accident!!"

"You set water on fire, Sylvia. Water. On fire."

Sylvia’s face went red.

"That was a fluke!!"

Raiden stared at her.

"Sylvia, you cannot set water on fire. That’s not how physics works. "

Literally defy the laws of physics and break the space-time continuum just by cooking. That’s not normal at all!!"

"Watch me!!"

She turned and marched back toward the house, and Raiden felt a sense of dread settle into his stomach.

"No, no, no, wait—"

But it was too late. Sylvia was already inside, and the sound of pots and pans clanging together echoed from the kitchen.

Raiden sighed and looked at Rose and Neva, who were still sunbathing nearby.

"Any of you want to help me stop a kitchen fire?"

"Hiss..." Rose didn’t even open her eyes. You’re on your own, Rai Rai.

"Sha Sha..." Neva agreed. Neva is sunbathing.

"Traitors."

He trudged toward the house, already mentally preparing himself for the worst.

Sure enough, the moment he stepped into the kitchen, he was greeted by a wall of smoke and the smell of something burning.

"Sylvia!!" he shouted, rushing forward. "What did you do?!"

"I’m making stir-fry!!" she shouted back, waving a spatula around like a weapon. "It’s fine!!"

"It is not fine!! The pan is on fire!!"

"That’s normal!!"

"It is not normal!!!"

Raiden grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and sprayed it directly at the pan, dousing the flames in a cloud of white powder. Sylvia stared at him with a wounded expression.

"You didn’t have to do that."

"Sylvia, you set a pan on fire making stir-fry. That is not normal."

"It was just a little fire."

"A little fire is when you burn toast. A big fire is when you burn down the kitchen. You were somewhere in between."

Sylvia pouted.

"You’re so mean."

"I’m saving your life. And mine. And the house."

She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Fine. You cook then."

"Deal."

Raiden took over the kitchen, and within twenty minutes, he had a proper meal on the table. Stir-fry, rice, and some grilled vegetables, all cooked without setting anything on fire.

Sylvia stared at the food with a mixture of awe and resentment.

"How do you make it look so easy?"

"Because I don’t try to set things on fire."

"Shut up."

They ate in relative peace, with Woolie eventually wandering back inside covered in dirt and grass, looking very pleased with himself.

"Woolie Woo!!" The Emperor is hungry! Where is the food?!

He dove straight into his plate without even bothering to clean himself first, and Rose and Neva followed soon after, both of them still slightly damp from the sunbathing session.

Raiden watched them eat with a fond smile.

It was good to be home.

After lunch, he dragged his recliner chair out to his favourite spot near the fence, adjusted it until it was at the perfect angle, and flopped down with a satisfied groan.

"Ahh..." he sighed, closing his eyes. "This is the life."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cold drink, popping the cap and taking a long sip.

The sun was warm. The breeze was gentle. Woolie was running around in the distance, kicking up dirt and generally being himself. Rose and Neva were sunbathing nearby. Everything was peaceful.

And then his phone rang.

Raiden groaned and pulled it out of his pocket without even looking at the screen, assuming it was probably some credit card company trying to sell him something.

"Hello?"

"Raiden,"

The voiceon the other end made him freeze.

It was Morgana.

The one he hadn’t called in over a week because he’d been too busy getting dragged into a bloodline conspiracy and nearly dying several times.

"Hey, Morg," he laughed, trying to sound casual. "How have you been? I was just about to call you, actually—"

"Raiden Ashford." Her voice was quiet. Too quiet.

"Why were you with Aria?"

The line went silent.

Raiden stared at the phone in his hand, his mind racing.

This was the moment he knew he’d fucked up.