Chapter 108: Public Display of Stress

Words : 1306 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 108: Public Display of Stress It could have been worse. He could’ve died. No, wait. That would’ve been better in preserving what little honor he still had. But Xavier could only choke, his usually overpowering powers and constitution clearly working against him at this point. Why would Luca say that, of all things?! What about saying thank you like a normal person? But what even was normal? Technically, Luca was kind enough not to exclaim it. He was rather reverent in murmuring it to Xavier that it should’ve just been heard by him and the teachers close by. But that would be the case if they hadn’t been studying in a school with all these spiritually blessed people. So, of course, there were suddenly clanging tableware, coughing fits, and definitely a few spurts of blood. Xavier also felt like bleeding. He could understand. His organs probably wanted to have internal bleeding right then and there, if not for Luca’s expectant face. "Are you alright?!" His glee now turned into concern as Xavier’s choking subsided. Everyone must have been thinking about the nature of their relationship with how silent the cafeteria suddenly was. Xavier figured he would have to do a lot of cleansing or maybe revive that project about memory manipulation. He wasn’t alone in this as Kyle thought of the public relations damage this would eventually cause, with headlines that would truly send him to an early grave. But Ollie was actually confused. He was suddenly unsure of the nature of their relationship. Did his good and innocent brother have to sell himself to Xavier because he had money problems? Was it that bad? He was mortified. The instructors and onlookers were understandably surprised. Save for a few who have now weaved tall tales about an overbearing top student and his newly acquired beauty who was ripe for domination. A story that would be a hit for months to come. But for now, the overbearing top student must survive this ordeal. "I’m fine. But you really should be careful with your words, or you might be misunderstood." "Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean selling my organs to you! I just meant my body and service!" Luca clarified, afraid that Xavier would think he was giving something obsolete as he remembered D-29’s findings! "I promise, I can cook and clean well enough, too!" He added that, for good measure, it was essential to show his capabilities when striking such deals. "Host! Maybe you could also say that you would take care of him! I saw how they hire robots as maids now, but the robots still won’t be able to take care of his medical needs, but you can!" D-29 added as it noted the significant advantage of its Host over everyone else. That’s right! How could he forget about that? "And more than anything, I’ll be sure to take good care of your needs!" Luca pumped his fist to guarantee his statement. But Xavier just wished he used those little fists to hit him into the next life. Just how was it possible for things to even get worse?! A student pretending not to eavesdrop couldn’t handle it and tripped, breaking the palpable tension in the room. Admittedly, even Baldy, who was really angry earlier, couldn’t understand the development and felt like this was way more embarrassing than their earlier altercation. He actually shut up after not being able to handle the secondhand embarrassment. It seems he really just was meant for the battlefield. Xavier really thought that there was no other option; it was either them or him. Maybe it would be fine to just take everyone out. No one would blame him, right? "Did I say something wrong?" Luca looked up at him and saw Xavier’s complicated expression. He figured something might have gone wrong. What if he took his help back? Luca felt alarmed. But Xavier, who realized there was no going back from all of this, decided to just tank the damage. He was the Crown Prince, and he shouldn’t be randomly executing people. He would say this but in reality it was because he noticed the gaze that the Orc Princess had as someone who towered everyone else. She had a look of longing. And whether it was directed towards another, Xavier couldn’t care less. He just didn’t like it. So, the mountain giant made up his mind. "Luca, listen to me. You’re not allowed to say these things to anybody else, okay?" Xavier was serious and his sighs sounded like he was carrying the weight of the world (because he was). "I... I see! I won’t, I promise we’re exclusive!" The little money-grubber remembered the concept of exclusive contracts and thought that Xavier might not want his hours divided and so he agreed, after all he didn’t have much time to be employed by other people! "..." "Yeah, sure. Exclusive." Every word hit Xavier like a truck but all he could do was rustle Luca’s hair like he was petting a dog. Unbeknownst to Xavier, the Princess was actually looking at them but for a totally different reason. While she was of course very invested in the events unfolding, in fact her assistant, Ada had to meticulously take videos in her stead, Kira was more curious about those bands. They weren’t standing close enough, but the Princess had abilities unique to her race, and she could clearly see those matching rings. The Orcs had no such concept, but the humans? The curious Princess has read about them and couldn’t help but mutter under her breath. "They’re married." "?" Next to her was a sister-in-arms who suddenly stopped typing on her terminal, to look up towards where the princess was looking. She had to use all her might to do it, but the sister managed to break her limits trying to see just who was married. Then she saw it. Those matching bands, and that very intimate head pat (not). "!!!" And proceeded to delete her tale of possession and debt repayment. It was to be replaced by a hidden marriage between an heir and his lover who was very protective of him. Like a Royal and his knight. Perfect. Meanwhile, Xavier who really just wanted to get out of there managed to haul of Luca who was now rattling his mind with what he could cook for dinner, in celebration of their successful sign-ups. He was not privy to the state of his three other buddies who had to sign-up after them. They schooled their expressions to the best of their abilities as to not give anything away. It was a battle of internal screaming, and Ollie wasn’t sure what was worse? Was it the fact that he would likely fail this exam? Or was it the fact that his brother was now in an exclusive relationship that was known to all. Did he even inform the Duke? He probably did right? Because his brother was such a good boy that it was impossible for his family not to know. Ollie tried deluding himself. It actually worked for a while, especially as Luca announced that they would have dinner today to celebrate this occasion. Jax had no idea what was being celebrated, but when he heard food, he was definitely ready for whatever celebration and proceeded to follow obediently. However, while a certain group of people gave up in preserving their dignity, several seniors had been reporting back about the possible emergence of a new guild. While they weren’t sure about it before, the confirmation that the ranker was the heir to the Dukedom of Kyros surely changed the playing field. And Ian was the one who had to inform Ivan of the unexpected developments. Their targets were married, and were likely to start their own family, or well, guild.

Chapter 108: Public Display of Stress

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