Chapter 382
Setan frowned in confusion.
“Isn’t Mother accepting Nina because of me? Nina saved my life p>
Yian immediately burst out laughing.
“You really think that? You’re far more narcissistic than I realized p>
Setan’s brow twitched. Yian continued mercilessly.
“Your mother likes Nina because she’s the City Lord of Barbarian City. She’s also the Revered Beast your mother worships p>
He pointed at his son.
“What does any of that have to do with you p>
Setan’s smile froze.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
So… He had completely misunderstood.
The warmth he’d felt moments ago evaporated instantly.
Seeing his expression, Yian nearly laughed himself breathless.
Setan rubbed his forehead.
“Then why was Mother so hostile toward Nina before p>
“Because she didn’t know who Nina was.” Yian shrugged. “The moment your mother heard that a female had become the City Lord of Barbarian City, she practically idolized her p>
His tone carried a mixture of fondness and exasperation.
“She constantly asked us to gather information about her p>
Unfortunately, information coming out of Barbarian City had always been scarce.
As a result, their understanding of Nina had remained limited.
Only now had the pieces finally fallen into place.
Realization dawned on Setan.
So that was the reason. And here he’d thought… He really had been overthinking things.
Yian couldn’t resist teasing him further.
“You actually believed your mother changed her attitude for your sake p>
He shook his head.
“You’ve got quite the imagination p>
Even he wasn’t shameless enough to think that.
Setan coughed awkwardly and immediately changed the subject.
“What about the gifts and the durians? Have you prepared everything p>
The topic shift was so obvious that Yian almost laughed again.
Still, he graciously played along.
“Of course. When your father handles something, it gets done properly p>
His grin widened.
“As for the gifts, your grandfather is taking care of those personally. Trust me, the old man’s private collection is far richer than ours p>
Thinking about it, Yian felt quite satisfied with himself.
He had gathered a truly impressive number of durians.
Not only had he searched throughout Blazing Flame City’s territory, he’d even purchased every remaining durian Pado possessed.
The sincerity level was practically overflowing.
Setan nodded. “Good. We should head over to Nina’s courtyard. Grandfather should arrive soon too p>
His injuries had mostly healed.
Which meant… It was finally time to begin kneeling. The remaining wounds would recover naturally. There was no need to keep burdening Nina with additional treatments.
As for how long he’d have to kneel… That was another matter entirely.
If he hadn’t finished by the time Nina left Blazing Flame City, he’d simply continue kneeling while traveling.
Judging by his father’s smug expression, the number of durians involved was probably alarming.
Ten days.
Half a month.
Maybe longer.
Setan silently prepared himself.
“Let’s go p>
Yian followed beside him.
As they walked, Setan suddenly remembered Serpent City.
“Father p>
“Hm p>
“Make sure the investigation into Serpent City progresses as quickly as possible. I’ll be occupied kneeling on durians for the next few days p>
Yian nearly stumbled.
No matter how many times he heard it, that sentence sounded ridiculous.
Still, he nodded.
“Don’t worry.” He waved a hand confidently. “Your grandfather and I will handle it. We’ll uncover the truth as quickly as possible p>
Setan trusted their abilities.
“Inform me immediately if you discover anything p>
“Of course. You just focus on earning Nina’s forgiveness. That’s the important mission p>
Setan sighed.
Unfortunately… His father wasn’t wrong.
The two lions soon made their way toward Nina’s courtyard.
Meanwhile, Nina and Yuna were playing games with the cubs in the courtyard.
The atmosphere was lively and cheerful.
Suddenly, a group of males entered through the gate. One after another, they carried in large wooden chests.
Then more arrived.
And more.
And more.
The contents piled up rapidly. Before long, treasures filled nearly the entire courtyard.
Nina blinked in surprise.
What was going on? Why were they bringing so many things?
The cubs stopped playing.
Even Yuna looked confused.
Moments later, Rin appeared at the entrance. The old lion walked in with an imposing expression.
The instant he spotted Keil among the crowd, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
He shot the old fish a fierce glare.
That damned fish. Just wait. Once today’s business was finished, they were definitely settling accounts.
No one secretly hid the existence of great-grandcubs and got away with it.
Not while Rin was still breathing.
Keil lifted an eyebrow the moment he saw Rin.
Well, well. It looked like the old lion had finally learned the truth.
Judging by the mountain of gifts, he had come specifically to apologize to Nina.
Keil’s gaze swept over the treasures filling the courtyard.
At least the old lion wasn’t stingy.
Those gifts were barely worthy of Nina.
With that thought, he graciously decided not to mock him immediately.
Rin strode toward Nina and stopped in front of her.
Then, with considerable effort, he arranged what he believed was the warmest, kindest, most grandfatherly smile imaginable.
Unfortunately, it looked slightly terrifying on his stern face.
“P-Pardon me, Nina p>
He gestured toward the countless treasures behind him.
“These are a small token of affection from Grandpa Rin for you and the cubs p>
A trace of guilt entered his voice.
“As for my previous attitude… Grandpa was wrong. I owe you an apology. And everything I said yesterday was complete nonsense p>
He waved his hand emphatically.
“Please don’t take any of it to heart p>
Then, as if afraid she might misunderstand, he quickly added, “I actually support you and Setan very much p>
Nina arched her eyebrows. She was genuinely confused.
How had this man undergone a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree personality shift overnight?
Yesterday he’d looked ready to fight Setan over her.
Today he was calling himself Grandpa and smiling like an affectionate elder.
The transformation was so dramatic that it almost felt suspicious.
Her gaze drifted toward the gifts piled throughout the courtyard.
“A bit too much?” Rin immediately shook his head. “Not at all. Besides apologizing for my attitude, we’re also thanking you for saving Setan p>
His expression grew solemn.
“And regarding the broken engagement… Blazing Flame City owes you an apology for that as well p>
In truth, he’d added an entirely new compensation package on top of the original broken-engagement settlement.
And then upgraded it.
The rest of the treasures were apology gifts and thank-you gifts.
If anything, Rin still felt it wasn’t enough.
Nina looked at the enormous collection of valuables and felt slightly overwhelmed.
“But p>
She honestly hadn’t been that angry.
Before she could continue, Setan spoke.
“Nina, just accept them. That way, Grandfather and Father can finally feel at ease p>
Yian immediately nodded. “Exactly. If you don’t accept them, we’ll keep feeling guilty p>
Yuna hurried over and took Nina’s hand.
“Nina, please keep them. For Blazing Flame City, this really isn’t much p>
Internally, she was cheering for her son. If Setan successfully rose in status one day… Wouldn’t she become Nina’s mother-in-law?
The thought alone was enough to make her giddy.
Nina still looked hesitant.
Seeing this, Rin straightened.
“Nina, I know these gifts alone don’t fully demonstrate our sincerity. So I prepared something else p>
Something else?
Everyone looked at him curiously.
Rin gave a meaningful glance toward the lion warriors standing nearby.
The warriors immediately nodded.
First, they carefully stored all the gifts away using spatial stones, clearing a large section of the courtyard.
Then, in perfect synchronization, they each produced another spatial stone.
The moment they activated them—
THUMP.
A massive durian dropped onto the ground.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Within moments, giant spiky durians were raining into the courtyard from every direction.
Nina stared.
The cubs stared.
Everyone stared.
The pile grew larger and larger. Soon it resembled a small hill. Then a large hill. Then it continued growing.
Rin smiled proudly.
“Nina… I heard that when the males in your household make mistakes, they kneel on these durians as punishment. So naturally, I prepared some p>
Some?
Nina looked at the rapidly growing pile.
Her eyelid twitched. This wasn’t “some.” This was enough to open a durian plantation.
A dangerous suspicion suddenly appeared in her mind.
Before Rin could answer, he shot Setan a look. Setan immediately stepped forward.
“Grandfather is an elder, so I’ll kneel in his place p>
Nina rubbed her forehead. A headache was coming for sure.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected things to escalate to this level.
“There’s really no need.” She sighed. “I wasn’t angry p>
Her gaze swept over the gifts and the ever-growing durian mountain.
“You can take all of this back p>
Rin immediately shook his head.
“No. Nina, I know you’re generous and forgiving, but what’s owed should be repaid p>
Nina looked at the durian mountain. It had somehow doubled in size while they were talking.
Setan glanced at the pile.
Honestly? It didn’t seem too bad.
“I should kneel more. The broken engagement should be included too p>
Then he looked at Nina with pleading eyes.
“Nina… Please let me kneel p>
The expression on his face made it sound like she was denying him some great honor.
Nina pointed silently toward the mountain.
“Are you sure this isn’t excessive p>
Setan turned around. His confidence immediately wavered.
Wait. Why had the pile gotten so much bigger? A moment ago it hadn’t looked this large.
His alarm was only beginning.
Because the durians… Were still arriving.
The lion warriors seemed determined to empty every storage stone in existence.
Time passed.
The pile continued expanding.
Eventually, what stood in the courtyard could no longer be described as a hill.
It was a mountain. An actual mountain.
A towering golden-green monument of spikes that stretched so high people had to tilt their heads back to see the top.
Silence descended. Everyone stared upward. The cubs’ mouths fell open.
Even Nina looked stunned.
Someone swallowed audibly.
“That’s… a lot p>
How long would someone need to kneel through all of that?
A month?
A season?
A year?
Meanwhile, Setan stood frozen. His composure slowly cracked.
Then shattered.
Then died.
He turned mechanically toward Rin and Yian.
The two lions looked away.
Setan stared at the mountain again. Then back at them.
A horrifying realization dawned upon him.
They weren’t trying to apologize… They were trying to kill him.
There was simply no other explanation.