Chapter 31: Revelations!

Chapter 31 - Revelations!"Massages!" He declared. Emily blinked. "Yes! Massages, Emily! Have you heard Alice when he massages her? She screams like she's floating in heaven! Like—like she's being reincarnated through her back muscles!" Emily's face warped with horror. "What the hell?" She shouted, scandalized. "You let that creature touch Alice?! You? The same man-child who used to go full berserker and slap Raedon for even entering the house when you weren't home? What the hell happened to—" "Shhh." He shut her up with a single, firm finger on her lips, giving her the classic 'I'm a noble idiot but also totally in control' look. She blinked, stunned. Raedon, meanwhile, was internally screaming. 'This woman is a pain in the divine ass. How does anyone deal with this level of dramatics without self-immolating?' Still, his finger lingered on her lips a second longer than necessary, just enough to feel their warmth. His thoughts took a turn again—he really needed help. But out loud, he kept the charm up. "Just hear me out, okay?" Emily, looking like a scolded schoolgirl, nodded her head dutifully. "Like I said, I don't hate him." Raedon began, lowering his voice like he was revealing royal secrets. "But I have to act like I do. Because of the nosy neighbors. That tight-lipped father has ties with the royal family. And if he—or that nosy cow he calls a wife—sees me treating Raedon like family... i\ He paused for a dramatic effect. "It's over for us. Even if Alice was in his church, he wouldn't think twice to report us." Emily's eyes widened in alarm, her lips parting as the implications started to click. Raedon crossed his fingers in his pocket, hoping the gods had his back this once. "You see where I'm going with this? If the king gets word that we're cozying up with a goblin—a former enemy of the crown—we're not getting a warning letter. We're getting a one-way ticket to Exile-ville." Emily gasped. "They'd revoke our citizenship?!" "They won't just revoke it." He said gravely, milking the drama. "They'll wipe us. Wipe us from the records, the land deeds, the social events... you think you're gonna get to host next year's summer brunch if you're scrubbing latrines in a border camp?" "No!" She said, horrified. "Exactly. So, here's what we do—act the part. Cold, distant, indifferent in public. But when we're alone?" He leaned in. "Treat him kindly. Like a little... mutated house cat." She nodded slowly, like she'd been entrusted with sacred state secrets. "Oh, and one more thing." He added, standing up tall. "I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened. So if you ever bring this up again, I will deny everything. I will act like the very mention of that goblin's name gives me hives. Got it?" She nodded again. "Good. Because with Maximus already fed up with my 'hero antics,' the last thing I need is him finding out I'm secretly running a goblin-friendly spa in my basement." Maximus was the ever-brooding brother of the king. He was the kind of man who looked like he'd chew iron nails for breakfast just to prove a point. He had been vocally against hiring heroes from foreign kingdoms to battle the Goblin King and his spawn, arguing that "outsiders have no loyalty, only ambition." Unfortunately for him, the king's plan worked. The heroes not only won the war but became national treasures paraded around like peacocks in a kingdom drunk on peace. And Maximus just seethed in his resentment like a man marinating in vinegar. Raedon, still in Alex's form, gave Emily a quick kiss on the cheek and bolted. "Gotta get ready now!" Emily blinked, still trying to process the verbal hurricane that just passed through her brain. Her baby boy... didn't hate Raedon? This whole time, he was just acting for political cover? It was enough to make her sit down and question the very laws of reality. "Well," she said aloud, patting her flushed cheeks. "My dear is a hero, after all. Makes sense he wouldn't condone slavery or... goblin hate or whatever the term is these days." With a sigh, she turned to the books he had clumsily dropped earlier and now restacked on the shelf. All were dry historical tomes. All... except one. Her eyes caught the spine of the odd one out. "Goblins: Anatomy of Unusually Horny Imps." She raised a brow. "Huh." She picked it up, turned it around in her hand, then promptly shrugged and slid it back on the shelf like a woman who's seen too much and simply chooses peace. No questions. No drama. 10 minutes later... Emily had left for her room to take a long, much-needed bath, humming to herself like none of the last half-hour happened. Downstairs, the real Alex and Alice appeared. Alex was clad in sleek leather armor, the kind worn by men who planned to move swiftly through forests instead of clanking around like metal golems. His heavy armor days were behind him—light, silent, and agile was the new philosophy. It was time. Time to move.