Chapter 665: When Patience Runs Out
"Come on, you little shit! Answer, dammit!"
Killian was pacing inside the rarely used cubicle, glaring down at his terminal as if sheer willpower could make his brother pick up. His pulse pounded in his ears. His parents. His parents. Why were they here?!
They were never ones to attend events like this.
Not because they lacked desire for social or trade gatherings. No, the truth was worse. The mere presence of the Nox Patriarch and his wife would crush an event beneath the weight of formality, expectation, and political obligation.
It was the same awkward dilemma that faced the Imperial family. They often longed to attend auctions and galas like ordinary people, but couldn’t.
Because if the Emperor and Empress ever showed up in person, the ripple effects were catastrophic.
Security demands would skyrocket tenfold. Formality would smother the air. Preparation would balloon into weeks instead of days.
And worst of all, the moment they placed a single bid, the auction would collapse into a direct sale. No one would dare outbid them. The monarchs had never asked for such treatment, but it was an ingrained custom.
To prevent suffocating everyone else, the Imperial family usually sent a proxy—Butler Henry being the most common choice—unless they were absolutely set on obtaining something, or the auction was hosted by the Imperial Household itself.
Even then, they made a show of restraint. They never bid on everything. They waited, letting others compete first.
The Emperor and Empress had even explained this carefully to Luca, their voices tinged with longing.
They admitted they dearly wanted to watch the auction with their own eyes, but if they appeared, all bidding would come to a halt. Everyone would retreat out of fear, handing them the lots uncontested.
And when Luca had told them not to waste their fortune on something he could easily make again, that had been the final nail.
So the Imperial couple had resigned themselves to staying away. They were left to their palace work or quietly tinkering on their cabins when time allowed, their only solace being the hopefully non-blurry footage Uno promised to send. Then again, if it was so bad, maybe they could ask D-29 for a better take.
The little princess, with her hands on her waist, had nodded solemnly the whole time.
She figured it should be fine, that fairness dictated they would all be together since she couldn’t attend because she was too young. Therefore, they would just wait for everyone else to come back!
Her insistence was amusing, but who would dare say otherwise when she already pouted because her big brother, Xavier, had been allowed to attend? And if not for allegedly going for Luca’s safety, he likely would’ve ended up watching a stream too.
Then again, if that explained why the Imperial family would usually stay away, what about House Nox?
For generations, patriarchs of House Nox had held the highest ministerial post in the Empire.
They could have elevated themselves to Dukes long ago, but the family had turned it down deliberately, preferring the safety of a Marquisate over the suspicion that came with higher military might.
Their father, Minister Kordell Nox, wielded influence vast enough that his bids carried almost the same weight as Imperial ones. His presence alone would silence opposition.
That was why Killian, as the eldest son and heir, had always been the one to attend auctions. The invitations went to him. He was the buffer. He was the face of Nox restraint.
So how, in all the burning hells of Solaris, had his parents waltzed into the auction hall as if it were their personal garden stroll?
Ah, but of course. After a few months of being stonewalled by their youngest child, and soon enough, their eldest evading contact like he was evading taxes, how could any parent stay quietly at home after learning that both children would likely be in the same place?
What kind of parents would they be if they were close enough to reach their children yet still managed to miss them?
Kordell and Evelyn Nox had been careful at first. They never headed straight to Planet Nova to search, mindful of their youngest’s safety and Xavier’s concealed identity. But this? This was a completely different game now that they were on the same planet.
Well, technically, they had tried to be patient. They sent Killian ahead first, hoping he would bring back news they could work with. But instead of proper updates, their eldest had suddenly mastered the art of disappearing.
He was never at his office when they visited. Too busy or reassigned elsewhere when they summoned him. Or worse, always "recuperating" in the medical bay.
Evelyn Nox, normally the picture of grace, had once shown up unannounced at the medical bay only to find that her son had left just minutes earlier.
One could only imagine the utter distress of parents whose children had suddenly become too good at hide and seek.
And yes, it was wonderful that their sons shared such a strong bond. Truly heartwarming. But how dare they use that bond as a weapon to hide from their own family?
If not for the fact that Kordell trusted their sons had good reasons, he and his wife might have already lost their marbles. He had worked with the intelligence division for years. He understood better than anyone that sometimes ignorance was bliss.
But he had been the one to serve in such a division, not his wife, who by this point was ready to hunt down witch doctors if it meant finding those little shits.
And it had only grown harder to pretend nothing was happening, especially once even his advisors began asking about his son’s involvement with the academy guild
Of course, he was aware things were happening. How could he not be, given his position? The oddest, most extraordinary incidents in the Empire had been piling up one after another, and all paths seemed to lead back to the same place.
Just recently, the registration office fiasco had been splattered all over Star Net, yet no one would give him a straight answer. Not the Imperial faction. Not the military. Not other nobles. And worst of all, not his own children.
Two of them! Two!
Kordell Nox had really, really tried to be patient. But the final straw came when Evelyn received casual congratulations on her youngest son’s "match." She smiled politely at first, but the moment she got back to the manor, she was metaphorically ablaze.
And so, it became a no-brainer. Either they found their children at this auction, or they would soon find his body floating somewhere in space courtesy of his wife.