CHAPTER 207: A BROTHER

Riven raised his hands into the air. "Sofia, calm down," he said.

"Calm down? Why should I do that when you are walking around here on a date with that lady?" Sofia asked. She didn’t wait for a response and fired another water spell. Riven made a firewall and blocked the attack.

"Stop it, Sofia. We weren’t on a date; we were getting some things for dinner today," Riven said.

But Sofia wasn’t having any of it. Her eyes showed a desire to kill.

Riven looked at Noel for help, but Noel looked away immediately. "You are on your own here, bro," Noel muttered.

"Traitor," Riven said. "Mia, Liana, please tell her to calm down," Riven begged.

"Why should we? We saw you on a date after all," Liana said. She looked at him with a cold stare.

Riven dragged his hand down his face. "It wasn’t a date. I didn’t even want to leave the house today. I was forced to."

Sophie took a step forward. "Calm down, all of you. You’re blowing things out of proportion."

Sofia’s staff was still raised. "Blowing things out of proportion? You were holding hands."

"It was after a bunch of men attacked us," Sophie replied, her voice calm. "He helped me. I was shaken, and he was simply being supportive."

"You didn’t look shaken when you were walking hand in hand like a princess," Mia said.

Sophie narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly is your problem with me? Why does a simple outing for dinner ingredients feel like some sort of betrayal to you girls?"

"Because he’s our fiancé," Liana snapped.

Sophie looked at Riven, then back at the girls. "Your fiancé? Then why is he being dragged around by me instead of one of you?"

She was a maid, and so she didn’t need to know the details of things like Riven’s relationship life. Sure, she heard some rumors, but they were that, rumors.

This was the first time she confirmed that he really had three fiancées.

"That’s what we’re trying to understand!" Mia spoke, her frustration boiling over.

Riven sighed loudly. "Can we stop yelling in the middle of a restaurant?"

"No!" all three of them said at the same time.

"Listen," Sophie said, placing a hand on her chest, "I see Riven as someone dear to me, yes. But not in the way you’re imagining."

"Then what way is that?" Sofia asked, still not lowering her staff.

"He’s like a younger brother to me," Sophie said. "I’ve known him for a while now, and at some point, we clicked, and he reminds me of my little brother."

"A younger brother?" Liana asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yes," Sophie said without hesitation. "I don’t see him as a man. I don’t think of him like that. I care about him, but not the way you girls seem to think."

"No, no, no, we don’t." The three girls started waving their hands after they heard that last part of what she had to say.

Sophie smiled, seeing how flustered they were. They were young girls, after all.

Riven looked at her. "Little brother? Sigh... I don’t know how to feel about that. I didn’t know you saw me like that."

"You didn’t need to know," she replied softly, showing him a smile. "Knowing this doesn’t mean that I’ll take it easy on you at all. I’ll still do what I always do," she said.

There was silence for a moment. The staff in Sofia’s hands slowly lowered.

"Seriously?" she muttered. "A little brother?"

"Yes," Sophie confirmed.

Mia crossed her arms and looked away. "Still feels weird."

"You’re the one who attacked us with a spear made of water," Riven said.

"Yeah, well, that was your fault," Sofia replied.

Riven dragged his hand down his face again. "So... can we eat now or do we keep fighting?"

Liana looked away and clicked her tongue.

"Whatever."

Sophie walked past them and sat back down. "If you’re all done being dramatic, we still have a cake to finish."

Riven followed her, sitting beside her.

The others joined slowly, each one taking their seat with a bit of reluctance. Noel came last, trying his best not to get noticed.

They sat, and for the first time since the argument, no one said a word. Everyone took small bites from the cake.

The meeting had an awkward air today, but later on it got better. The three girls spoke with Sofia and they got to know her better.

Riven watched them talk to her, three daughters of dukes talking to a maid. And at one point, they were smiling and laughing. Even Sofia was talking.

’I guess even they have had their changes. They are no longer the stuck-up girls that I met once upon a time,’ Riven thought.

After they were done with the restaurant and paid, they headed home. The girls walked ahead with Sofia, who somehow was now their new friend.

Noel walked beside Riven. Riven didn’t say anything for a while, then he looked at Noel. "You traitor," Riven muttered.

"No way, there is no way that you’ll put me in the middle of all that," Noel said.

"You could have at least tried. You claim that you are my sword and will die for me," Riven said.

"Dying for you is far more easy than standing between you and those girls," Noel said.

"Oh, come on. You would rather take a sword through your chest rather than help me with them?" Riven asked.

"Yup. Anytime, any day," Noel said. They burst into laughter.

After a while of walking, they finally made it back to the manor, and as they arrived, they saw When standing outside the gate, his arms folded as he leaned on the wall.

When he spotted them, he stood up straight. "Finally, you are back," he spoke in a happy tone.

"Were you looking for us, Mr. Quin?" Mia asked.

"Well, yeah. I have some things to talk about with you lot," he said.