Chapter 417: Why is he here?

Vangar walked into the kitchen.

It didn’t take him long to spot Rory’s crystal brewing barrel.

"What on earth is this?" ℯ

Vangar swallowed hard as he stared at the fruit soaking in an unfamiliar liquid inside the barrel.

It smelled incredible!

Since it was kept in the kitchen, it had to be edible, right?

Vangar reached out and popped the lid off the crystal barrel. He usually detested fruit, but the scent clinging to these ones was just too mouth-watering. Just catching a whiff of it was enough to make him drool.

Quickly grabbing a spoon, Vangar scooped out a piece of fruit along with a little bit of the liquid, then stood to the side to eat it.

He knew he couldn’t cook and didn’t dare mess with the stove. What if he ended up blowing up the kitchen again? But lately, his palate had been utterly spoiled by the food at home, and he could no longer stand drinking nutritional supplements.

Crunch!

Vangar took a bite of the fruit.

Delicious. It was absolutely divine. What even was this flavor?

Crunch, crunch...

Vangar wolfed down the entire fruit in just two bites. Still feeling a bit hungry, he fished out a second one.

Crunch, crunch...

The moment he finished the second fruit, Vangar suddenly felt his face burning up. His mind grew hazy and sluggish. Swaying on his feet, he stumbled his way out of the kitchen...

Upstairs, in the master bedroom.

Xarion was fast asleep, holding Rory in his arms, when he suddenly felt something nuzzling against his chest. Without opening his eyes, he reached out and gently stroked the figure, pulling them tighter into his embrace.

"My female master..."

Once pulled into his arms, the figure nuzzled against his chest a few more times.

"Sss..."

Xarion let out a soft hiss with his eyes still closed as his consciousness slowly drifted back. He ran his hand over the figure in his arms.

Wait, this texture? Why did it feel like he was petting something covered in fur? Was it his female master’s hair?

Xarion cracked his eyes open slightly, only to see Rory fast asleep on the other pillow.

Xarion: "..."

If his female master wasn’t in his arms, then who exactly was he holding?

Xarion’s eyes snapped wide open. Instantly awake, he bolted upright and looked down at his chest.

There, curled up and dead to the world in his arms, was a white tiger about the size of a large dog.

Xarion: "..."

Was Vangar out of his mind? Creeping onto their bed in the dead of night just to snuggle into his arms?

Without a moment’s hesitation, Xarion kicked Vangar right off the bed.

With a loud thud, Vangar hit the floor. He didn’t wake up, but the noise startled Rory, who snapped her eyes open.

"What happened?" Rory asked, immediately looking over at Xarion, who was sitting up in bed.

Xarion had been so blinded by irritation at Vangar that he’d entirely forgotten Rory was sleeping right beside him. He quickly pulled her into his arms and apologized in a low voice.

"I’m sorry, my female master. I woke you up."

"What’s going on?" Rory was still disoriented. "I just heard a loud thud. Did you fall out of bed?"

"Not me." Xarion pointed down at the floor. "It’s Vangar. I don’t know what kind of madness possessed him in the middle of the night, but he crawled into your bed. He even sneaked into my arms to sleep. It startled me, so I instinctively kicked him off."

Rory slipped out of Xarion’s embrace and peered over the edge of the bed.

Sure enough, a white tiger was sprawled out flat on his back on the floor, completely dead to the world.

Rory looked at Xarion, then pointed at Vangar. "You kicked him like that and he didn’t even wake up?"

Xarion nodded. "Not a peep. He might have just passed out from exhaustion."

Passed out, my foot.

Rory quickly scrambled out of bed to check on Vangar. There was no way a single kick from Xarion could have knocked him unconscious.

Something had to be wrong with Vangar.

"Vangar, wake up."

Rory reached out and nudged him, but he didn’t react. He remained completely dead to the world. His breathing was steady, but he just wouldn’t wake up.

Rory looked at him anxiously. Just as she was about to ask Xarion to examine him, she caught the faint, unmistakable scent of alcohol wafting off Vangar’s body.

Rory: "..."

Did this guy actually get drunk?

Xarion smelled it too. He turned to Rory and said, "Female master, I smell that brew you were making today on Vangar. Did this guy sneak into the kitchen and steal some?"

Rory pursed her lips. "It certainly looks like it." Standing up, she said to Xarion, "Keep an eye on Vangar for a moment. I’m going down to the kitchen to check."

"Female master, looking at him, he’s probably not waking up anytime soon. He’ll be fine sleeping here. Let me go with you instead." Xarion had absolutely no desire to watch over Vangar. The guy had interrupted his sleep with his female master; Xarion wanted nothing more than to throw Vangar straight out of the castle.

Rory glanced at Vangar, then said to Xarion, "In that case, carry him back onto the bed."

Vangar was so heavy that Rory definitely couldn’t lift him. Xarion didn’t want to carry him either, but since Rory had asked, he couldn’t refuse outright.

After a brief thought, Xarion argued, "He’s drunk as a dog and hasn’t even changed his clothes. If I put him on the bed, he’ll ruin the sheets. Besides, tigers are shedding this season. He’ll leave fur all over the place, and we won’t even be able to sleep. I think it’s better to just dump him on the sofa."

With that, Xarion grabbed Vangar by one leg and tossed him straight onto the sofa. He literally just... threw him.

Rory’s mouth twitched. She couldn’t help but feel that if Xarion weren’t around, the rest of them would probably end up in countless fights every single day.

Rory grabbed a blanket and draped it over Vangar. Then, she and Xarion headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, the lid of the crystal barrel was wide open, and the scent of alcohol was wafting through the air.

Rory had Xarion wait outside while she went in to secure the lid. She then moved the crystal barrel to a different spot, opened the kitchen window, and used her abilities to completely clear the odor out of the room. Only then did she step out of the kitchen, feeling relieved.

The moment Rory came out, Xarion grabbed her hand, pressed her gently against the wall, and softly kissed her lips.

"Female master, since Vangar is in your room, why don’t we go rest in mine? You haven’t seen it yet since I redecorated." He had completely redone his room, and he was certain his female master would love it.

Rory actually really wanted to see Xarion’s room, but she was still a little worried about the drunk Vangar. The chaotic antics of Vincent, Jasper, and Paros when they were drunk were still vivid in her memory.

"Tomorrow," Rory said, cupping Xarion’s face and giving him a kiss. "Vangar is drunk. I’m afraid if I don’t keep an eye on him, he’ll cause trouble."

Though Xarion was a bit disappointed, his female master had just kissed him, so he could only agree. "Alright, then let’s go back and watch over that foolish tiger."

No sooner had Xarion spoken than Vincent walked in from outside, accompanied by Yuel, who had returned with him.

Seeing Rory downstairs so late, Yuel frowned immediately.

"Vincent, Yuel, you’re back. Are you hungry? Xarion and I can whip up something for you to eat."

"No need," Yuel said, shaking his head instantly. He walked over to her, took her hand, and asked, "Why are you still awake so late?"

Vincent also stared at Rory, then swept a disapproving glance over at Xarion, clearly displeased that Xarion hadn’t urged Rory to go to sleep by this hour.

"You don’t need to glare at me," Xarion shot back with an equally irritated look. He was already harboring a stomach full of anger. "It’s not my fault the female master isn’t sleeping. She and I were resting perfectly fine until Vangar suddenly got drunk and came to disturb her. He’s the one who woke her up."