Ian turned his head and looked at her right after she finished speaking.
Susan saw a breathtaking glow in those beautiful brown eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat as she stared into them.
“You told them?”
“Y-Yes…” answered Susan dazedly.
Ian stopped talking and looked away. It was obvious he was upset about it.
Susan dared not speak again.
She waited for quite some time, but he never said anything. It seemed that his silence was doing a pretty good job of expressing his utter dissatisfaction because it was driving Susan insane.
“D-Don’t worry. They are not angry with you at all. In fact, they want you to rest well here. That is why I’ve planned everything for you. If you don’t want to go home, you can stay here for a few days, and I’ll hang out with you.”
Susan didn’t actually mean to share all that information. It simply slipped out of her lips.
When she finished speaking, Ian turned his gaze to her.
He was extremely tall, and Susan could tiptoe, but the top of her head still wouldn’t be able to reach his chin. Darn it. He’s three years younger than me, so why is he taller than me?
The height difference made it so that she had no choice but to lift her head to look into his emotionless eyes. As though granting her a gift, he half-heartedly nodded in agreement.
“Okay…”
Susan was speechless once more.
This spoiled brat!
Ian ended up staying in that village after that.
Sebastian, who was at Avenport at the time, burned with anger when he first heard what had happened, but Sasha convinced him to let him go.
Sasha thought that her son had only done something that rebellious to go against his father.
As for the reason he went to Susan…
“Susan has always looked out for Ian even when they were at school. It’s not like Ian can go to his siblings after he escaped SteelFort, and he definitely couldn’t go to Kurt, who has gone to Xenhall. He didn’t have many options, and that was why he went to Yeringham instead,” Sasha analyzed.
That reasoning was sound. As far as Sasha and Sebastian were concerned, that was the only possible reason Ian would go there.
He never had many friends, and the incident with Duncan only made him keep his guard even higher. That was why he didn’t really know anyone outside the family.
Sebastian agreed with his wife’s reasoning.
Still, her words reminded him of a crucial issue he needed to solve.
“Should we help him look for his significant other?”
“Wait, what?” Sasha was surprised to hear that. “Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t get involved with the kids’ love life? Why are you trying to set Ian with someone up now? Are you going back on your words?”
Sasha panicked a little.
They were having a video call at the time, so Sebastian could see how worried she was. Hence, he waved at her and signaled for her to calm down.
“I don’t want to get involved, but Ian’s situation is a little unique. You saw how things are for him and what the incident involving Yasmin has done to him. There is no saying what will happen if he meets another woman like that again.”
Sasha was instantly at a loss for words.
He’s right. My boy is not an ordinary man. He has always had a small circle of friends, and he always hides away in the figurative castle he built in his mind. Who knows what will happen the next time someone breaks down his defenses?
“W-Who do you have in mind?”
“We’ll have the old man keep an eye out.”
Sebastian didn’t have anyone in mind, so he entrusted that to Jonathan. The latter happened to be bored out of his mind, anyway.
Besides, he was strict, so the woman he chose would surely be amazing.
Sasha agreed.
The couple ended the call soon after. Sebastian was going to go back to work when someone suddenly sent him a text.
Karl: Kurt called earlier, Mr. Hayes. He said he found something in Xenhall.
Sebastian: What did he discover?
It had been a while since Kurt had gone to Xenhall, and he had been sending reports regularly. As everything had been progressing smoothly, Karl had not bothered reporting anything to Sebastian.
That day, however, something that was worth mentioning came up.
Sebastian checked the photo Karl had sent and saw that it was a clay pot. There was a lot of mud on the pot, and it looked as though it had just been excavated.
Sebastian: What is that?
Karl: Inside is filled with broken bones, and it was buried by the entrance.
Sebastian: So?
Karl: Do you believe in geomancy? After Kurt found it, I looked into the place and learned that the place was actually filled with vital energy.
Sebastian was lost for words. My gosh, I can’t believe he’s talking nonsense.
Sebastian cut him short right away and demanded that he take things seriously.
Geomancy? What on earth is that? The monk from Aquene Temple once said that I am destined to be a king, but I’m still the same old me, aren’t I?
Karl: I’m serious, Mr. Hayes. I’m sharing this information to let you know that the clay pot is buried in a critical spot.
Sebastian did not reply.
Karl went on: I think someone deliberately buried this clay pot here. This may have probably been Eddie’s future grave back then, yet they actually buried these bones here.
