Transmigrated To A Beastworld As The Lazy Wife Of The Fox Lord

Chapter 239: The wink.

In the evening, Elias took the men in his family out for drinks. His chosen venue was a bar at the rooftop of an entertainment tower in the city. This bar was not the kind of place that one stumbled into by accident. It was a gentleman’s club with shields and velvet curtains heavy enough to muffle the city’s roar. It had chandeliers dripping with crystals that looked like frozen rain and sleek leather armchairs so deep they swallowed men whole.

The air smelled faintly of aged wines, polished wood, and the faint musk of beast lords who sat inside its walls, plotting, laughing, sulking and occasionally crying into their glasses when the burdens they carried exceeded their ability to endure.

Elias sat stiffly at the mahogany table near a private wing of the bar, clutching a glass that was so tiny, it look absurd in his big hand. Beside him were his two brothers Gael and Miro. Their father slouched at the center, misery dripping from his posture, while their grandfather leaned back in his chair, watching the others like a silent judge.

They had all come for one purpose: to cheer up Marius. What their mother had done had embarrassed him. After so many years of living inside a bubble, it had burst and now, he was lost! His pride was wounded, his reputation bruised. And now, he was drowning in shame, alcohol and laughter.

"She really screwed the pooch, huh!" Miro began, swirling his glass with exaggerated elegance, "Father, don’t take it too hard. Mother’s antics are not a reflection of you in any way. You are a great husband, great father, a great man in every way. Every family has its scandals. Did you hear about Sienna’s encounter with the Wit family."

"Are you comparing us to them?" Gael asked.

Miro shrugged. "I am just saying it could be worse."

Gael nodded slowly. "True. That is why I am considering moving out after my wedding. A new house, far from mother. Peace, quiet, and no chance of her clashing with my wife."

Marius groaned. "Another son abandoning his father."

"Not abandon," Gael corrected smoothly, "Strategically retreat. Besides, you still have Miro and Cyra. They thrive on drama. They will keep you entertained." He turned to Elias, "And, let’s not forget Elias and Sienna. The two have more drama combined than the rest of us. They thrive on it."

Elias shot his brother a glare. "I do not thrive on drama. I endure it."

Jesse snorted. "Endure? You married Sienna. Endurance is your only choice. At this point, it must be practiced like a skill."

That earned a ripple of laughter around the table, even from Marius, though it was a weak chuckle. Elias muttered something about loyalty, but the words were drowned out by the clink of glasses.

"Why was Eli wearing duck print socks by the way?" Jesse asked Elias. "The boy is too....." he winced, "how do I put it nicely without offending everyone here because we all love him."

Gael chuckled, "Uptight."

"Nosy." Marius chipped in with a smile.

Suddenly, Miro leaned forward with wide eyes. "Did you see that?" he whispered urgently. "The green haired server winked at me."

The men froze. Marius lifted his head, suddenly distracted from his misery. Jesse raised one eyebrow.

Elias narrowed his eyes. "A wink?"

"Yes!" Miro insisted. "She looked right at me, and her eye closed and opened. A wink!"

Gael scoffed. "You imagined it. No server here would wink at you. This is a high-end club, not a tavern."

But Miro was adamant. "I swear it. She winked. She is about to wink again. Watch!"

And so, like hunters waiting for prey, the five fox beast men turned their collective gaze toward the server polishing glasses at the far end. She was elegant, dressed in crisp black and white, her movements precise. She did not appear to notice the scrutiny of five pairs of eyes boring into her.

Minutes passed. Marius leaned forward, highly skeptical. "I think you imagined it. Maybe she had something in her eye."

"Or, it was a sign of respect." Gael suggested.

Jesse grumbled. "Nonsense. A wink is a sign of mischief. In my day, no respectable woman winked at a man unless she intended to steal his coins."

Gael choked on his drink.

Elias slapped him on the back with too much force, intentionally. "There, there, we wouldn’t want you to die before your wedding."

"She did it again!" Miro gasped.

When the men turned their attention back to the server, she was pouring drinks, focused on her task with so much intensity.

"You imagined it." Marius said, shaking his head.

Elias sighed, rubbing his temples. "Why do we care about this winking business? We came here to cheer Father, not debate winks."

But the mood had shifted. Marius was no longer sulking; he was alert, curious, even hopeful. The brothers argued over the meaning of winks, citing examples of their romantic history and every wink hat happened during that time. They told never before heard stories of personal misadventures.

Jesse launched into a story of a fox general who once mistook a wink for a battle signal and charged too early.

"Any moment now," Miro whispered. "She’s building suspense."

Marius chuckled, the first genuine laugh of the evening. "Suspense! Even if she does wink, what do you plan to do about it?"

Miro straightened his shoulders, smiling like an experienced rogue, "What do I plan to do about it? Charm her of course. She is sending out signals, how can I turn her down? A gentleman answers the call and escorts her home safely."

"We all know what is code for, why pretend to be a gentleman?" Elias muttered.

Another round of arguing was started, over the true nature of a gentleman. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the server turned, caught Miro’s gaze, and whether by accident or design, closed one eye in a fleeting wink.

The table erupted.

"Ha!" shouted Miro, nearly falling off his stool. "I told you!"

Marius slammed his glass down, grinning. "A wink! I will be damned, my youngest son is a charmer."

Jesse banged his cane against the floor. "A flirtatious wink at that. She is after his coins."

The men cheered again, raising their glasses in a toast to the wink, to the server, to the absurdity of life. Marius’s misery seemed to melt away, replaced by laughter and warmth. Elias thought back to the moment when Sienna had suggested that he take the men of his family out for drinks and distract his father. Was this what she had been hoping for?