Chapter 100: He’s Madam Grace’s son

Chapter 100: He’s Madam Grace’s son Eva held her cheeks, sensing something didn’t add up. Why does his touch feel so real? Her eyes darted around, then landed on Ethan’s meaningful expression—her eyes widening as sleep cleared from them. "Ahh! Who are you? How did you get in my bed?!" Eva rolled to the other side, dragging the bedcover with her. Her gaze jumped between the unfamiliar man and Ethan, then down at herself—wrapped in bedcovers—and her brain exploded. (◎_◎;) boom "I can explain. I don’t know who he is... wait, that sounds worse. Like I’m caught in bed with another man... but I was! Oh my God!" she muttered, her eyes growing wider with every word. "Eva—" Ethan began, but she cut him off with more frantic rambling. "I swear I don’t know this man. Maybe I thought he was gorgeous and a tempting dream." Eva gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth, cursing her own stupidity. She’d basically just admitted to dreaming about another man—in front of her husband. ’Dammit! Brain, don’t fail me now. Please think of something clever (⁠*⁠_⁠*⁠;⁠)’ "Oh! So you dream of other men." Ethan’s flat tone made her sweat bullets. "Sister, I can introduce you to more handsome men if you want," Aaron said seriously—like he meant every word. "(⁠ ⁠ꈨຶ⁠ ⁠ ̫̮̇⁠ ⁠ꈨຶ⁠ ⁠), handsome man, you’re really not helping right now... please shut it." Eva pleaded, on the verge of tears when she noticed Ethan’s crossed arms and bland expression. Aaron shot Ethan a glance and instantly disliked him. Though they were equal in strength, he felt his sister deserved better. He mentally scrolled through his list of acquaintances and frowned—none of them seemed good enough. "Alright, explain." Ethan folded his arms tighter, clearly waiting to see how she’d talk her way out of this one. This was her punishment for dreaming about someone else. Ethan tried to deny it, but he was definitely jealous. ’Wasn’t he handsome enough for her? Why dream of another man?’ He gave Aaron a once-over but couldn’t even lie to himself and call him ugly. That only worsened his mood. Eva froze at his words, her eyes darting around the room until they landed on the door—and that’s when she realized it seemed unusually far away. Eva felt like her mouth was cursed—every word only got her into more trouble. ’No wonder protagonists in situations like this couldn’t talk their way out, even with ten mouths.’ Realizing it would only get worse, she turned to Aaron with a hopeful, pleading expression. "You sleepwalked into my room, right...? We don’t know each other. Explain that to my husband," she said firmly—her eyes throwing daggers at Aaron in warning, daring him to defy her, before gesturing to Ethan, signalling him to speak. Aaron opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the doorknob turned. All eyes turned to see Julian walk in. Julian blinked, feeling three pairs of eyes on him, confused about how a third person had ended up in their room. "What’s going on here? Who’s this guy?" he asked, pulling a dagger from his ring. "It’s our wife’s dream man—come to life," Ethan deadpanned. "Huh?!" Eva and Julian shouted in unison, while Aaron’s expression darkened. "Are both of you my sister’s husbands?" Aaron’s voice trembled with fury, and the moment they nodded, he exploded—shadows surging around him and engulfing the room. "Beasts! How could you both bully my delicate sister? I’ll kill you!" Aaron roared, and shadows rushed toward Ethan and Julian. Eva felt like she was trapped in a chaotic dream she hadn’t woken up from—no wonder everything seemed so unreal ( ゚_ゝ゚). She headed for the bed and lay back down, ready to go back to sleep, until she caught sight of a shadow blade aiming for Ethan’s throat. Her body moved before her brain could catch up, and she launched a kick at Aaron’s side. A loud bang echoed through the room. Aaron paused and looked down at her, smiling fondly. "Don’t worry. I’ll play with you later. For now, I have to kill these beasts," he said, gently patting her head—like he hadn’t just been the one attacking moments ago. "Ow!" Eva yelped, hopping on one leg, eyes tearing up from the pain. "Are you made of iron or something?!" she cried and quickly healed herself. "Sorry, I forgot I have the same genes as our mother," Aaron said, rubbing the tip of his nose guiltily—completely forgetting about Julian and Ethan. Julian’s dagger hovered awkwardly in the air as he shot Ethan a questioning look. "He’s Madam Grace’s son," Ethan replied. There was only one shadow user at Dungeon Conqueror level in Oasis City—Aaron Quinn. Julian frowned, noticing Aaron’s hand lingering on Eva’s head far too long for comfort, and barely reacted to Ethan’s words. In a blink, Julian appeared beside Eva, wrapped his arm around her waist, and tried to carry her away. But Aaron wasn’t letting go—he stepped on Julian’s shadow, locking him in place, and tried to pull Eva to his side. Caught between them, Eva lost her patience. "Are you two waiting to rip me in half before you stop?! And you!" She jabbed Aaron’s shoulder. "I don’t even remember having a brother! Don’t go around claiming people without proof." She softened her voice at the end, pity flickering in her tone as she stared at his hopeful expression. "I didn’t get it wrong. You’re definitely my sister—you have the birthmark on your nape to prove it... Here." Aaron said confidently, brushing her hair aside to reveal a small black cone-shaped mark to Julian. Eva tried to see it, twisting her neck in different directions, but gave up with a huff when it started to strain. Ethan was surprised that someone else knew about the hidden birthmark besides him, and he couldn’t help but believe Aaron’s words. He had found it by chance. The mark was hidden beneath her thick hair and only visible if you brushed it aside—so even Eva wouldn’t have known it was there. "It’s true, Eva. You have a birthmark. But that alone doesn’t prove she’s your sister," Julian said. Still, when he recalled Madam Grace’s face—an older version of his wife—he couldn’t help but believe, just a little. "It’s all the proof I need. Let go of her," Aaron demanded, finding Julian’s presence an eyesore during what should’ve been a proper sibling reunion. He cracked his knuckles and glared at both men with killing intent. He still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that they’d married his sister—and now they kept getting in the way of him even holding her. Eva had stayed quiet, searching through the novel’s plot, but all she could remember was that this original body was an orphan who handed the female lead the ring—and that was it. It would be nice to have a family. She was content with Julian and Ethan, but she wouldn’t mind a genuine family bond. And if they ended up not liking her... well, she could always pat her butt and hightail it out of there. Eva nodded to herself, coming to a decision. She turned to her maybe-soon-to-be brother and couldn’t help admiring his well-defined features. ’Looks like beauty runs in the family—like me,’ she giggled to herself, lifting her chin with mock pride. "Alright, I need to see who my parents are...not that I recognize you people yet." Eva quickly added when she saw his eyes brighten up. "Eva, you’ve already seen them. He’s Madam Grace’s son," Ethan chimed in as he froze both Julian and Aaron’s hands, then effortlessly lifted her out of their grip. Eva’s eyes widened in surprise as she patted Ethan’s hand, signalling him to put her down. "No wonder they looked at me with such warm, pained expressions. But why didn’t they recognize me then?" Eva asked, confused, turning to Aaron for answers. "They didn’t know about the birthmark," Aaron said, stepping forward. "They were trying to find an electric user to power the DNA sequencer... Please don’t blame them—they just didn’t want to give you false hope."