Vera looked at the female boss, whose expression had suddenly turned extremely dark, her heart filled with shock.
Could she really get this agitated just by mentioning her brother resigning?
And she even said "never resign"...
How was that possible? Did she really want her brother to work a dangerous job for her for the rest of his life?
"I am not joking." Celia shot a quick glance at Ansu, pausing slightly when she saw the urgent expression on his face.
As a result, her voice subconsciously softened a bit.
"There is no need for your brother to resign at all. He is very happy here with me, and he enjoys this job very much."
However, her tone remained filled with an unquestionable firmness.
"My brother is a free man!" Vera met her gaze without fear. "He can work wherever he wants to work. He doesn't have to have you as his only boss!"
"Oh?" Celia gave Ansu another faint look and let out a cold laugh. "That is hard to say."
Let him be free? How could that be possible?
He would get used to... even come to like the days spent by her side. She was confident she could make it happen.
Because she was already doing it.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to endure this hostile brat and take the initiative to visit as a guest... she was the type of person who hated small talk and pleasantries; she loathed all forms of hypocrisy.
After faking a smile all day, Celia felt like her face was about to turn stiff...
Vera was even more shocked by the other woman's words. "You! Do you actually want to restrict my brother's freedom?"
Celia revealed a strange smile. "Of course not..."
"But..."
"He will not leave me." Celia smiled, her tone still brook no argument. "So, don't even think about the resignation!"
The atmosphere grew colder and colder, but what was even colder was Vera's state of mind.
By what right?
By what right would she not let her brother leave! She was far too overbearing!
"I..." Vera wanted to say more, but her small mouth was suddenly blocked by a piece of beef Ansu had placed there.
"Didn't you say you couldn't reach it? Come, Brother will feed you~"
Ansu's expression made it seem as if nothing had happened. He fed a piece of beef to his frustrated sister and then considerately served some food to Celia as well.
"Quick, eat. You should eat these while they're hot, otherwise they'll get cold in a moment."
If he didn't step in to stop them, things were going to get cold very soon...
Ansu observed Celia's flickering expressions and muttered silently to himself. He had almost been unable to resist activating the simulation just now...
But after thinking it over, he decided to let nature take its course, because inviting Celia over had been his intention from the start.
Celia wouldn't do anything.
Because this was Vera, his sister.
Not the poor Holy Maiden...
Freya's identity, combined with the secrets she knew, was practically a stack of death debuffs...
"You two should stop arguing. It's just a job." Ansu looked at Celia and spoke with a soothing smile. "While it does seem a bit dangerous, I actually quite like this job at the moment. It's not often you get to combine your passion in life with your work, is it?"
Celia's gaze fixed intently on Ansu. "Is that so? So you like it very much..."
"This job."
"Of course!" Ansu turned with a smile to his sister, who still looked skeptical. "With such a high salary, a clear path for promotion, and great prospects, where else would I find a job like this if I resigned?"
He might even make it to the cult's upper management in a while, so how could the prospects be bad...
"Brother, but..." Vera still wanted to say something.
"There are no buts." Ansu shook his head. "See how much the boss values me? She won't even allow me to resign. Doesn't that prove how capable your brother is? Vera, you should be happy! Besides, it's just a job. Only a job..."
Ansu deliberately kept steering the conversation back to "work."
Celia could tell that Ansu was doing everything he could to deflect the conflict, which made her let out a faint sigh in her heart.
He really is working hard...
Then I suppose I'll reluctantly cooperate with you this once.
"Mm... if Ansu wants to go a step further, it's not impossible."
She said with a faint smile, "After all, given my relationship with the big boss, many things are just a matter of a single word. I understand your ambition; everyone wants to climb higher, after all..."
"Oh, really?" Ansu feigned an expression of wanting to advance, blinking his eyes in surprise.
"Yes..." Celia nodded helplessly.
Though she said it, she might not actually be able to do it if he took the joke seriously. Celia suddenly thought of her own delicate situation within the cult...
A girl adopted by her teacher, a demihuman.
She was even a demon descendant...
All of these traits were far too out of place within the Truth faction, which was known for its conservatism and held human pure-bloodism as one of its core tenets.
Perhaps she really should do as Ansu suggested back then... and change something?
It was quite strange. Celia, who had never been interested in power, actually found herself yearning for the benefits that power brought for the first time at this dinner table for three...
On the other side, Vera naturally understood her brother's good intentions.
She looked helplessly at her brother, who was trying his best to ease the atmosphere, and suddenly felt a bit of heartache for him.
To be stuck with such an overbearing female boss and still have to balance the scales amidst their mutual antagonism... the smile on his face couldn't look more strained...
"Brother... sorry. It seems I didn't consider your feelings." Vera looked at her brother sadly. "I really didn't expect you to like this job..."
"Yeah, yeah." Ansu continued to pick up a piece of meat and put it in Vera's bowl. "Eat more meat to grow big. Vera is too thin!"
"It's just that your job sounds so dangerous..." Vera had no appetite at all and let out a helpless sigh.
During this time, she had been constantly worrying about her brother's safety...
"Collecting data and investigating dangerous elements, dark wizards, and demihumans hiding among the people... you're almost as busy as Teacher was before she retired."
"You should know... she was forced to retire because of black magic corruption..."
"You can rest easy on that front." Celia didn't think much of it. "I can protect him."
"Protect..." Vera pondered the word, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.
It was always the employees risking their lives for the boss; she had never heard of a boss protecting an employee with such concern...
This Hailey Lawrence was treating her brother way too well.
It was almost a bit too much...
The suspicion and vigilance in Vera's heart surfaced once again. She frowned as she studied her brother and the female boss sitting on either side of her, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt...
This didn't look like a relationship between a boss and an employee at all!
Instead, it felt more like...
At the same time, Celia's gaze occasionally fell on Vera's face as she too was secretly thinking.
She had felt this way before.
This sister of Ansu's didn't act like a sister at all...
She was worrying a bit too much, wasn't she? The possessiveness she showed toward her brother practically exceeded the boundaries of familial love.
Many times, her attitude toward Celia...
Actually felt like she was jealous?
This...
Celia was shocked by her own discovery.
It couldn't be, right?
This thought appeared for only a fleeting moment before she tried her best to suppress such a ridiculous idea.
She must just be a sister.
Just a very close sister...
Rate on N.U.
