CHAPTER 671: THE MINISTER’S HEADACHE

Minister Kordell Nox woke up to sounds he would have preferred not to hear. And while he did appreciate their concern for him, why did he feel like he should be more concerned about their futures?

Because before him were two people with the same look in their eyes. And it was definitely unsettling.

"Dear, are you feeling better now?" Evelyn asked, her fingers casually brushing through his hair.

Kordell sat up straighter, rubbing at his temple before muttering, "You tell me. Right now, I’m not really sure if I’m feeling better."

He glanced at the trembling blonde, who looked like he was preparing to meet his maker, then back at his wife, who looked entirely too pleased. "So... what exactly happened while I was out?"

"Oh, nothing much," Evelyn said cheerfully, her smile blooming like a spring flower. "I just got to know our future son-in-law."

"..."

Minister Kordell Nox, who in public was known for his stern and unshakable expression, gaped. His mouth actually fell open as he looked at his wife, then at Oliver, then back at her again.

"So it’s really true?" he asked in disbelief.

"Definitely true," Evelyn said with certainty.

The Minister tilted his head back with a long sigh before something like a resigned smile curved his lips. "Then I guess... welcome to the family, Oliver."

"!!!"

Ollie practically jolted out of his seat, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. The entire time he had been wiggling in place, trying to anticipate what terrifying questions the Minister would throw at him, only to be blindsided by this sudden declaration.

"M-my Lord!" he stammered, nearly falling out of his chair. "By any chance, do you have any questions for me?"

The Minister simply stared at him. Ollie stared back, his bright eyes shimmering with desperation. The silence stretched until Kordell finally said, "While I do have a lot of questions, none of them would decide whether you stay or not. By the looks of it, not only has our son gone through all those lengths to keep you, but you’ve also survived my wife."

The shocked little mop blinked rapidly.

"So, in my opinion," the Minister continued dryly, "we can discuss details later when the ones who truly have explaining to do are actually present."

"T-then, My Lord," Ollie whispered nervously, "are you not angry about this?"

Kordell tilted his head, an odd spark in his sharp eyes. "Why would I be angry when just having you here allowed us to keep those two waiting outside of their own volition?"

"!!!"

Ollie’s eyes widened in dawning realization. His face lit up like a lantern, shining so brightly that the Minister felt momentarily blinded. He watched as the young cadet looked at his wife wordlessly, yet entirely too loudly in their strange connection. Kordell could practically see flowers blooming around them.

He already had a bad feeling about this. But then again, just by looking at them, he could see why it had been impossible for his son to escape. Of course, it had been. Their genes were clearly coded for attracting the worst yet the best kinds of calamities.

He chuckled quietly to himself, watching his wife—the biggest monster of them all—smiling as she calmly inducted another disaster into their family.

—

Meanwhile, outside the booth, one adjutant kept pacing like a caged beast, much to the annoyance of his older brother.

"Even if you wear a hole through the floor, it won’t help in getting him out. Also, Ollie always has revive pills, right?" Killian said casually.

The glare he received from Kyle could have frozen the sun. The younger brother had been seething with anxiety ever since they had been kicked out, and nothing Killian said was helping.

Then, all of a sudden, Kyle’s terminal flashed. His breath hitched when his little star’s face popped up. He thanked the stars his terminal was always set to private, because the message across the screen made his stomach drop.

Kyle! You’re my legal hubby now! We don’t need to elope anymore! You just have to survive! 3

There was even a little heart.

And yet Kyle felt like he had just been cursed.

"Oh, what now?" Killian asked, catching sight of his brother’s face.

"He survived."

"Huh?"

"He survived."

"...Then isn’t that good?"

"Yeah. But it seems Ollie isn’t sure if we will."

"Ah fuck!"

As it turned out, Killian’s sentiment was one that every other normal person in the auction hall quietly shared.

Because aside from those in the know who were faking their bidding skills with pitiful acting, everyone else was currently in the middle of their own private existential crises.

Finally, after all their hearts had been thoroughly shaken, it was the first time Minister Kordell Nox truly saw and heard what was happening below them.

Just what kind of auction was this?

They had been late to the party. Technically, they had attended on time, but their real objective had been to track down their children. Instead, they had gotten sidetracked by the shocking discovery of Kyle’s relationship and this boy’s outlandish introduction. Only now were they finally able to grasp the reality of the auction.

And it was all thanks to a flying boot.

"???"

When Marquise Evelyn calmly turned the booth audio back on, the three of them were greeted not with polite bidding, but with a chorus of screaming and taunting.

At first, it made no sense, until the display refreshed with the current item.

"Wait a minute."

Minister Kordell squinted at the screen, his jaw slackening. "An A-rank Hydraulic Pulse Line with a CF of seventy percent and a durability of seventy-six percent?!"

He shot to his feet in disbelief. Evelyn herself leaned forward, staring at the chaos below. The sight left her stunned.

The bidders weren’t even seated properly anymore. Some were standing on chairs, others were practically brandishing their canes, and more than a few looked one insult away from tackling each other to the ground.

Ollie, however, only sighed.

He sighed.

As if this scene of supposed professionals looking ready to start a bar fight was somehow expected.

That sigh drew the sharp eyes of the Nox couple.

And then they saw what else they had missed.

An Alloy Arm Actuator with a CF of seventy-two percent and a durability of seventy-eight percent.

A pair of Knee Stabilizer Rotors with a CF of seventy-five percent and a durability of eighty-one percent.

"..."

Just what on Solaris were those?!

"O-Oliver," Evelyn stammered, eyes wide. "What are these? Are these seriously the auction items?!"

Minister Kordell was in a rare state of panic, his voice rising. "These are not just good items. These are legendary! Why wasn’t the Imperial family buying all of them? Who got the earlier ones?!"

His face paled. "Did the Federation sympathizers manage to get their hands on any?!"

His hands twitched toward his terminal, fully prepared to summon every connection he had, to bid ungodly amounts of Star Coins if it meant keeping those items out of the wrong hands.

But before he could act, a voice cut him off.

"Father-in-law, please don’t buy them."

"WHAT?!" Minister Nox nearly toppled out of his seat. He turned in disbelief, convinced something was wrong with his hearing.

Beside him, Evelyn arched a brow. "Oliver, are you sure about this?"

The blonde nodded firmly, golden eyes sparkling with childlike determination. "Yes, Mother-in-law! It’s important to be prudent with our money!"

He puffed out his chest proudly, antenna bobbing along as if in agreement. In the background, the auction hall thundered with the symphony of screeching bidders clawing at each other’s wallets.

The contrast was so sharp it almost broke the laws of reality.

Minister Kordell Nox stared at him blankly.

Prudent with money? At a time like this?

What was happening to his life?