The mansion's front door closed with a soft thud, leaving a suffocating silence in the living room. The traces of ice left by Alvin's magic slowly faded, yet the chill in the room grew even more piercing.
After their departure, Elisa slowly turned her body. She glared sharply, full of rage, at her son. Her warm motherly aura vanished instantly, replaced by the intimidation of a former high-level adventurer.
"Allen..." Elisa's voice was low, but its vibration made her son's courage shrink. "What was that you just accused him of? He indeed has a sexual orientation difference, and he admitted it honestly. But it is not appropriate for you to behave rudely like that towards him! He is your cousin, Allen!"
Allen flinched. He didn't expect his mother, who was usually very protective, to now defend a cousin she had only known for five minutes and retort to his words.
"What? Mother is defending him?" protested Allen unacceptably, his face red from a mix of embarrassment and fear. "Of course I behaved like that! You heard it yourself, didn't you? He said that I was cute! It's certain that he wants to have me as his wife! That's a code, Mother! A code!"
Elisa massaged her throbbing temples. Her son's logic had truly gone astray due to paranoia.
"Listen, Son..." Elisa tried to hold back her patience. "Praising your face as cute doesn't necessarily mean having romantic feelings to the point of wanting to marry you! It's just a polite compliment or an objective observation! Even in the past, your Uncle Elgard often said that my face was cute when we were kids! But, did he have any desire to marry me? No, right?"
"That's a different case, Mother!" refuted Allen quickly. "You and Uncle Elgard are biological siblings! Your blood ties are too thick! Whereas he and I are just cousins! Under kingdom law, cousin marriage is legal! Of course, my position is very dangerous in his eyes!"
Allen stepped back when he saw his mother's eyes narrow dangerously.
"I don't want to listen to your nonsensical words!" snapped Elisa, her voice booming through the living room. "Save all your crazy theories! Now, chase him quickly! Apologize to him and persuade him to stay here!"
Elisa pointed towards the door with her index finger trembling from holding back emotion. "Don't you let your relationship with him become distant just because of this behavior of yours! It's enough that your uncle Elgard and I have had a bad relationship for decades! I don't want that stupid history to repeat itself in your generation!"
Allen gulped. He was still reluctant. His fear of Kazien still dominated.
"Mother, why do I have to—"
"If you ignore my words," interrupted Elisa with a final cold tone, her eyes flashing purple, "I will punish you severely! You know I never play around with my punishments, Allen."
Allen's face went deathly pale.
Allen badly wanted to refute his mother's words. His mouth was already open to protest. But seeing his mother's serious expression, he realized he had no other choice. Moreover, he was very afraid of being punished by his mother. Her punishment was not something to be taken lightly.
Very reluctantly, and with a heart full of resentment, Allen turned on his heel. He ran out of the house as fast as lightning, chasing the two guests he had just kicked out.
Allen was panting when he reached the front porch. His eyes swept across the vast mansion grounds.
And luckily, Kazien and Alvin hadn't gone far. They were still in the mansion's yard, walking slowly towards the main gate.
"Wait!" Allen shouted loudly, calling out to them both.
Kazien's footsteps stopped. He and Alvin turned around simultaneously.
Kazien looked at Allen with a flat, emotionless expression. Meanwhile, Alvin's gaze was still sharp and cold, as if ready to freeze Allen again if he spoke carelessly.
"Why are you stopping us?" asked Kazien coldly. "Alvin and I are leaving here! Isn't that what you wanted? You're afraid I'll peek at you showering, right? Well, now I'm leaving. Problem solved!"
Allen bit his lower lip. He stood awkwardly in front of them, crumpling the hem of his shirt. He had to say this, or his mother would punish him very severely.
"I... I apologize!" exclaimed Allen finally, though his voice trembled slightly.
He bowed his head, not daring to look into his cousin's eyes. "I was just... I was just afraid that you might ask me to be your wife after you praised my face like that! I panicked! Forgive me!"
In his heart, Allen cursed. I can't possibly say that I'm doing this because I'm very afraid of being punished by my mother, Allen thought anxiously. If I speak honestly that I apologized only because Mother ordered me to, the two of them might leave immediately out of offense, and that punishment would still be given to me!
Allen felt fear within himself to the point of feeling an extraordinary dilemma. Cold sweat trickled down his back. On one hand, he was scared to death of being punished severely by his mother. And on the other hand, he was still very scared and anxious if Kazien actually wanted him as a future wife after that apology was over.
That feeling kept raging in his mind without anyone knowing. He was trapped between two fears.
Kazien sighed deeply seeing his trembling cousin. Although he was annoyed, he knew Allen was just a victim of misunderstanding and paranoia. However, his pride remained hurt.
"We two will not live with you inside that house!" stated Kazien firmly.
That answer made Allen's heart drop. He became even more afraid of the punishment his mother would give if he failed to bring Kazien back.
"B-But..." Allen tried to find a solution, his eyes darting around looking for a middle ground.
Kazien glanced towards the spacious and empty side yard, the place Elisa had suggested earlier.
"But if you don't mind," continued Kazien, his tone softening slightly, "I will just use this mansion's yard as a place for us to stay! As per Aunt Elisa's offer earlier."
Allen looked up, slightly confused. "Huh? Why do you want to live here instead? In the yard?"
Allen looked around the yard which consisted only of grass and trees.
"Are you two going to set up a tent here?" asked Allen innocently. "The nights in the capital are quite cold, you know?"
Kazien did not answer with words. He only smiled faintly, then raised his hand into the empty air.
Thud!
Kazien took out the carriage from his dimensional storage space. A dark-colored wooden carriage appeared in the middle of the grassy yard. The black golem horse pulling it stood calm like a statue.
Allen was confused by the carriage that suddenly appeared in front of him. He observed it from wheels to roof.
Isn't this just the same as any ordinary noble carriage? Allen wondered. The shape is standard, not too big, made of ordinary wood. really, what is inside there that makes them prefer sleeping in that cramped wooden box rather than in our luxurious mansion guest room?
Realizing that Allen still seemed doubtful and confused, Kazien didn't intend to explain at length.
"Come on, Alvin!" invited Kazien.
Kazien opened the carriage door, then invited Alvin to enter first. After Alvin disappeared into the cabin, Kazien turned to Allen.
"You may come in if you want to see it," said Kazien briefly, then he too went inside the carriage.
Allen was left alone in front of the open carriage door. His fear was slowly eroded by an overflowing curiosity.
What is so special about this carriage? he thought.
With his curiosity large enough, and the urge to ensure his cousin would truly live "decently" so he wouldn't be scolded by his mother, Allen stepped forward. He immediately followed them from behind, climbing the carriage step, and poking his head inside.