Chapter 371: Not jealous
The following morning, Yuel stepped out of Vincent’s room.
He was on his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast when he spotted Nix sitting boldly on the lounge sofa.
One glance was all it took for Yuel to recognize the robe.
The style.
The color.
There was no doubt in his mind that Rory had picked it out.
Nix would never have chosen something like that on his own.
"Morning, Yuel."
Nix immediately brightened when he saw him.
Sitting proudly on the sofa, he straightened his robe for what must have been the tenth time, smoothing out wrinkles that didn’t actually exist.
"Don’t you think my pajamas look great too?"
His grin widened.
"Rory gave them to me last night."
Yuel stared at him.
"..."
As if he didn’t already have one himself.
What was there to show off about?
Still, if Nix was happy, there was no harm in it.
"They look good."
After offering the compliment, Yuel didn’t linger. He simply turned and continued toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Nix remained planted on the sofa, completely satisfied with life. His hands continued fussing over the immaculate robe.
Unlike Yuel’s set, the robe Rory had chosen for him wasn’t particularly revealing.
At least by comparison.
It was perfectly acceptable to wear around the house.
The entire reason he’d gotten up so early was so everyone could admire how good Rory’s gift looked on him.
Lowering his gaze, he admired himself once more.
How did she have such excellent taste? The outfit was perfect.
A door suddenly opened.
Xarion emerged with a yawn, silver hair tousled from sleep and sticking up in several directions.
He was still wearing yesterday’s casual clothes.
Half awake, he instinctively headed toward the sofa for a few more minutes of rest.
Then he noticed Nix. The sight immediately chased away the last remnants of sleep.
Xarion stopped mid-step. His narrowed eyes swept slowly over Nix from head to toe.
The glacier-blue silk robe. The open collar revealing far more chest than was strictly necessary. The frameless silver-rimmed glasses.
There was nothing wrong with the outfit itself.
Wearing it in private? Fine.
Wearing it for the Female Master? Also fine.
But sitting in the middle of the lounge first thing in the morning dressed like that...
Something was suspicious. Very suspicious.
Nix had barely opened his mouth when Xarion beat him to it.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Xarion folded his arms.
"Why are you sitting in the lounge dressed like that at this hour?"
His gaze sharpened. "Is it mating season already?"
"I am not!"
Nix immediately shook his head. Then he proudly pointed at his robe.
"Rory gave this to me last night."
His tail swished behind him. "Doesn’t it look good?"
Xarion froze.
The Female Master gave it to him? The Female Master had gifted Nix clothes?
And not just any clothes.
A robe this nice, too?
For a brief second, Xarion’s expression completely locked up.
Why hadn’t she given him one? Had Nix behaved better? Was he not obedient enough?
The more he thought about it, the more sour he felt.
Like someone had squeezed an entire orchard of lemons directly into his heart.
Looking half dead, he shuffled over to the sofa opposite Nix.
Then he dropped into it with a loud thud.
Turning his back toward Nix, he shut his eyes.
Not a single word.
Nix blinked.
Was Xarion... Upset?
He opened his mouth, intending to explain that Rory had also bought gifts for Yuel, and that Xarion almost certainly had one waiting as well.
Before he could say anything, however, someone suddenly grabbed his tail from behind.
"Aah!"
A beastkin’s tail was one of the most sensitive parts of their body.
Completely unprepared, Nix nearly launched himself off the sofa like a startled cat.
Spinning around, he found himself staring directly into Vangar’s amused eyes.
"Vangar!"
Nix’s face immediately turned red.
"What are you doing grabbing my tail?"
It wasn’t as if Vangar didn’t have a tail of his own.
Dressed in simple, immaculate casual clothes, Vangar looked him over with obvious amusement.
"I should be asking you that."
His gaze traveled deliberately over Nix’s outfit.
"What exactly are you doing?"
"You should be spending the morning with Rory."
His eyes drifted toward the open collar of the robe and the muscular chest visible beneath it.
The smile on his face deepened.
"And what’s with showing off your tail?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"What, are you trying to attract a mate?"
Vangar had only come out because Yuel had sent him a message asking him to keep an eye on Vincent.
As he passed through the lounge, the first thing he noticed was Nix.
The man was sprawled across the sofa in an eye-catching glacier-blue robe, a large fluffy tail proudly displayed behind him.
The sight was impossible to miss.
"You..."
Nix had been about to snap back and accuse Vangar of being the one in heat.
Thankfully, survival instincts prevailed.
The words changed at the last second.
"I am not."
Then he immediately pointed at his robe with obvious pride.
"Rory gave this to me."
His grin widened.
"Looks good, doesn’t it?"
"She said she spent a long time choosing it for me."
Vangar fell silent.
Oh. So that was what this was about.
Nix had received a gift from the Female Master and had come out first thing in the morning specifically to show it off.
How thoughtful.
Vangar slowly clenched his fist.
For a brief moment, he seriously considered confiscating the robe and throwing its owner off the starrail.
The door to Vincent’s room opened.
Having just gotten out of bed, Vincent stepped into the hallway.
The moment he saw the scene in the lounge, he frowned.
One emotionally devastated Xarion.
One outrageously smug Nix.
One Vangar who looked increasingly inclined toward violence.
What exactly had happened while he was sleeping?
"Why is it so lively this early in the morning?"
he asked.
Vangar immediately smiled.
"We’re admiring the outfit Rory gave Nix."
He reached over and patted the robe.
"You have to admit, it’s a very nice gift."
Then he turned toward Vincent.
"Tell me, Vincent."
His tone became even more innocent.
"Has Rory ever given you pajamas like these?"
If he was going to suffer from jealousy, there was absolutely no reason he should suffer alone.
A gift? Pajamas?
Vincent’s gaze landed on Nix.
Ah. Now he understood.
Leaning casually against the doorframe, he spoke in a tired voice.
"Rory is already carrying my firebird child."
His expression remained perfectly calm.
"She’s working hard enough as it is. How could I possibly ask her to spend additional time preparing gifts for me?"
His eyes lowered slightly.
"If anything, I should be the one giving her gifts."
What was a robe compared to that?
Rory was carrying his child. That outweighed a hundred robes. A thousand robes.
He wasn’t jealous. Not even slightly.
"This robe really is beautiful."
A new voice joined the conversation.
Lian approached wearing a simple white lounge outfit.
Stopping in front of Nix, he carefully examined the robe.
"Rory has excellent taste."
So this was the style she liked... Interesting.
Nix’s eyes immediately lit up.
At last. Someone understood him.
"Lian, you think so too?"
He sat up straighter.
"Don’t you think it suits me perfectly?"
Lian nodded. "It does."
The answer made Nix even happier.
"You have no idea how long Rory spent choosing this for me..."
At that moment, Wen and Paros emerged from their rooms.
After listening to Nix’s enthusiastic storytelling for less than a minute, both men became visibly jealous.
When would they receive treatment like that?
Pajamas seemed unrealistic.
They hadn’t become mates with Rory yet.
Still, even an ordinary shirt would be nice.
She wouldn’t need to spend hours choosing it.
Anything would do.
The last person to appear was Jasper.
One look at Nix was enough for him to understand everything.
He sighed helplessly.
This fool. He had received a gift from Rory and somehow thought it was a good idea to publicly show it off.
Did he have any idea how much resentment he was generating right now?
Jasper was willing to bet that once they arrived in the Central District, Nix’s workshop would mysteriously receive enough orders to bury him alive.
Meanwhile, inside Rory’s room, she slowly opened her eyes.
The space beside her was already empty.
Nix had apparently gotten up long ago.
Faint voices drifted in from the lounge. She could clearly hear Nix talking.
Still a little sleepy, Rory sat up and rubbed her slightly sore wrist.
Then she climbed out of bed and walked toward the door.
The moment she cracked it open, a familiar voice floated inside.
"I’m telling you, Lian..."
Nix sounded extremely pleased with himself.
"Rory likes my tail the most..."
Rory froze.
"..."
For several long seconds, she simply stood there staring at the partially opened door.
A powerful urge to turn around and pretend she had never heard anything suddenly appeared.
Unfortunately for Nix, it was already too late.
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