Chapter 379
Setan seriously began to wonder whether he had actually been adopted.
Not only were his grandfather and father refusing to help him pursue Nina, they were actively trying to recruit more rivals for him.
Who would have thought that the greatest obstacles on his path to winning a mate wouldn’t be jealous competitors, but his own family?
“Setan,” Yian said earnestly, “as a male, you should be more broad-minded. You shouldn’t stop a female from taking other males p>
Setan shot him a warning look. “Then why don’t you encourage Mother to take more males p>
Yian immediately choked on his own words. His eyes darted away.
“That’s… different p>
Setan let out a cold snort.
If Nina herself wanted another mate, he wouldn’t dare stop her. But voluntarily delivering handsome males to her doorstep? He wasn’t that generous.
Nor was he that stupid.
Yian rubbed his nose awkwardly. He genuinely did not see any problems with his plan.
“We’re only thinking ahead because your chances aren’t looking very good p>
His voice grew smaller. “More options aren’t necessarily a bad thing p>
Setan’s expression darkened once more.
And whose fault was that? They are the ones responsible for his failure, and now, the only solution they have is to push him further away from taking his place in Nina’s heart. Absolutely ridiculous.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down.
“If you want to show Nina sincerity, there are better ways p>
Hearing his words, Rin’s eyes instantly lit up.
“What other ways p>
After a brief internal struggle, Setan reluctantly pulled out one of the few remaining sheets of paper he possessed.
It was one of the treasures Nina had given him.
Using a pen, he carefully sketched a durian. When he finished, he held the drawing up for them to see.
“This p>
Rin and Yian leaned closer, their eyes scanning the drawing. The strange spiky fruit looked rather unremarkable and even a little silly.
Setan pointed at the drawing, his voice turning serious.
“In Nina’s household, when a male makes a mistake, he kneels on one of these as punishment p>
The two lions blinked, still genuinely confused.
“The more serious the mistake, the longer he kneels,” Setan continued.
Rin studied the drawing suspiciously.
“Just this thing?” He frowned. “It doesn’t look very intimidating. Are you sure this is going to work p>
Setan’s mouth twitched with strange satisfaction.
“Find one, and then you’ll understand p>
The thing was absolutely terrifying. Even though he’d never personally knelt on one, he’d seen enough unfortunate males suffer through the experience.
The memory alone made his knees ache sympathetically.
Rin suddenly looked troubled.
“You want your grandfather to kneel on this thing p>
Setan sighed. “No.” Then he pointed to himself. “You just need to gather as many as possible p>
A look of noble sacrifice crossed his face. “I’ll kneel on them for you p>
Since Rin was an elder, Nina would never actually force him to kneel.
That left Setan.
And possibly Yian.
Given everything they had done, he wasn’t entirely sure Blazing Flame City contained enough durians to cover their offenses.
The irony wasn’t lost on him.
Not long ago, he’d secretly mocked Aviel and the others for suffering such punishments. Now it seemed he was destined to kneel even more than they ever had.
Rin coughed into his fist.
“That… actually sounds reasonable.” Then he patted Setan’s shoulder. “Thank you for your sacrifice p>
Setan immediately regretted opening his mouth.
Meanwhile, Yian had already snatched the drawing. His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
“Don’t worry.” He waved the paper dramatically. “I won’t leave a single durian undiscovered within Blazing Flame City’s territory p>
Setan stared at him, shocked. He had no idea what was coming.
And because of that evident silliness… He was increasingly convinced he had been picked up from some random forest as a cub.
Yian continued studying the paper curiously.
“Setan, what’s this white thing?” He pointed at the sheet. “And what about the thing you used to draw p>
Immediately, Setan snatched both items back.
“This is paper. That is a pen.” Then he tucked them away protectively. “Nina gave them to me p>
His eyes narrowed. “And I am not giving them to anyone else, so don’t even think about it p>
Yian pouted.
“What are you hiding them for p>
Then, after a pause, he added honestly, “Fine. I actually did want one p>
Setan rolled his eyes.
Nearby, Rin discreetly pulled his gaze away from the paper and pen. Truthfully, he wanted them too.
After a moment, he cleared his throat.
“Your father and I will prepare gifts and gather durians first.” His expression became serious. “Tomorrow we’ll formally apologize to Nina p>
Setan nodded.
“Good.” Then he rose to his feet. “I’m going back to see Nina p>
After issuing several final instructions to his subordinates, he left the council hall and headed directly toward Nina’s courtyard.
The moment he disappeared from sight, Rin grabbed Yian by the arm. His voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper.
“Yuna probably hasn’t left yet p>
Yian blinked in confusion. “So p>
“Go inform her.” Rin glanced around cautiously before continuing. “Then hurry and gather the durians p>
Yian nodded. “And the gifts p>
“I’ll handle those.” Rin paused. Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, he added, “Oh… and perhaps continue searching for handsome males too p>
Yian’s eyebrows shot up. A wide grin spread across his face.
“I knew you hadn’t completely given up on that idea p>
Rin coughed.
“It doesn’t hurt to prepare p>
After all, it was always wise to have a backup plan.
Yian nodded solemnly. “I understand p>
In reality, he had another motivation entirely. If Nina was happy, then Yuna’s anger would probably disappear faster.
And if Yuna forgave him… He could finally stop sleeping outside the bedroom door every night.
The stone floor was cold. Very cold.
Filled with renewed determination, Yian immediately ran off to find Yuna.
After obtaining her approval, he rushed away to begin two important missions:
Finding durians.
And recruiting handsome males.
Both, in his opinion, were equally critical.