Vol 4 Chapter 5 (1/2)

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Lesson 5: Willfulness, apart from servitude.

Translator: Irid (contribution)

Editor: Arc, Lin, Laridae

The next day, Daren Solaris still didn’t manage to meet up with Ezart before school. However, he didn’t feel upset. This was because he had already found out, through Theodore Avery, that all of it had been arranged by his brother. His brother had sent men to inform Elian, Ezart and the others that they were to ignore Daren no matter what.

In fact, all of this was for the sake of infuriating him, to force ‘Dar,’ who had been hiding behind Dark Sun, to reveal himself.

So despite not being able to meet Ezart today, Dar felt quite buoyant. He was in such a good mood that he felt like soaring.

“Okay! Let’s fly to school today!” Daren shouted loudly and with enthusiasm.

After making the decision to fly to school, Daren turned around and walked back into the house. He hugged Theodore and said, “Papa, I’m going to school.”

“All right.” Theodore nodded his head and reminded him again, “Your brother hasn’t left for work yet this morning. Do you want to wake him up, and say bye to him now?”

Daren’s expression tightened and he snapped angrily, “No! Ask Little Dar instead.”

After saying that, he stormed indignantly toward the secret door in the living room and left.

Theodore Avery saw Dar off from the secret door. He did not tell Daren that even the issue of the Solaris Emperor liking DSII was false. Anyway, the Solaris Emperor really did treat DSII as Dar’s replacement before, so to say that he likes DSII is not necessarily false!

Retribution, this is retribution! Theodore drank his coffee while sighing in his heart, though he wore a smile on his face.

“Has Dar already left for school?”

Theodore nearly spat out the coffee he had in his mouth. After coughing several times, he quickly raised his head to answer, “Yes, that’s right!”

Devon calmly leaned on the railing as he stared at Theodore. Theodore returned his gaze, intending to watch him go off to the study, as per usual, before heading back to his laboratory. Usually, Devon would turn around and return to the study directly, without sparing him a single glance.

However, today the Solaris Emperor’s attention seemed to linger on the poor little doctor.

He continued to lean on the railing, his eyes still fixated on Theodore. Though his gaze wasn’t annoying, the world’s most powerful person was actually wasting his valuable time to stare at him… At least, Theodore couldn’t think of any other explanation, other than it being the calm before the storm.

“Well...don’t you have to work today?”

Theodore felt so unnerved at being stared at that his skin broke out in gooseb.u.mps and chills shot straight up his spine. However, the imposing Solaris Emperor was currently looking right at him, and so he didn’t dare turn around to return to his laboratory. For all he knew, he might be struck down once he had his back turned.

“Of course I have to. Recently, I’ve been worried about Dar’s issues. I haven’t been able to focus in the office, and work has piled up as high as a mountain.”

Despite saying that, Devon Solaris didn’t move from the railing, with seemingly no intention of resolving the mountainous pile of work.

Seeing this, Theodore Avery summoned his courage to say, “Then, I’ll be returning to the laboratory first.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Devon Solaris said with a faint smile, “You’ll still have enough time for experiments even after having breakfast with me, right?”

Crazy, this is crazy! Devon has really gone crazy.

It must be because he hasn’t seen Dar’s smile for so long that he turned crazy. Help! I still haven’t finished the experiment on Yue Baylian yet… No, no! I haven’t brought Yue Baylian ‘back to life’, so how could I just die like this!

Theodore Avery panicked. When he raised his head to look again, Devon Solaris was still leaning against the railing and looked down at him with a beautiful, G.o.d-like smile.

Oh! Dar, your father has let you down...

He truthfully narrated, in detail, to the person above him, “Dar has already returned to normal. Ezart was right, he was only being difficult with you, and that was why he hid behind Dark Sun and refused to come out. There’s absolutely no problem with turning on his emotion switch. I believe that from the very start, ever since you turned on the switch, there was no way to fully turn it off again.”

After hearing that, Devon finally wiped his smile off and replied indifferently, “Uh-huh.”

“You…knew?”

Theodore was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity. The Solaris Emperor seemed to be a bit too calm. As for how much he loved Dar, Theodore was definitely the best witness for that. If the Solaris Emperor had heard of this for the first time, then who knew? He might even have jumped down from the second floor in joy!

Devon raised an eyebrow, commenting, “I found out last night, a little earlier than you.”

“So it was like that.” Theodore gave a bitter smile. Dar, oh Dar. Just who are you trying to fool?

“Shain Baylian seems to have something to do with Dar suddenly regaining his emotions,” said Devon with a frown. He didn’t know whether this was a good or bad thing, and ‘not knowing’ in itself made him very uneasy, especially when it concerned Dar.

“Shain Baylian?”

Theodore thought for some time, before realizing it was very similar to the name of his test subject, Yue Baylian. This person had to be Yue Baylian’s son, Dar’s cla.s.smate.

Though he didn’t know how Shain Baylian had managed to drag Dar out from hiding behind Dark Sun, he was even more curious about another matter at that moment.

“How did you know that?”

“Who do you think I am?” Devon Solaris glanced down haughtily, and then said deliberately, “In this whole world, there is nothing that I wish to know that I cannot find out.”

There is! That time when Dar ran away from home, weren’t you unable to find him? Theodore Avery would never dare say this aloud, but he felt secretly happy. Hehe! I was the one who created Dark Sun’s superb skills.

“Also, you actually dared to keep news of Dar’s return from me.” Devon’s tone took on an alarming edge.

Theodore immediately tried to redirect the accusation. “This was Dar’s request! He didn’t want to tell you about it, so what could I do?”

“Why?” Devon’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He couldn’t deny that he felt a bit hurt. Dar had kept things hidden from him, and yet he had shared these things with Theodore.

“This...”

Theodore felt a little guilty, rendering him speechless. After all, if one sought out the heart of the matter, the main reason was because he purposely didn’t tell Dar that his brother didn’t like DSII. Hence, he had let Dar continue to misunderstand his brother.

Devon’s face darkened. He said coldly, “It seems like he likes you, his father, more…”

“No, no!” Theodore was almost frightened out of his wits. He understood all too well that within the list of things which the Solaris Emperor hated the most, having the position of ‘Dar’s favorite person’ s.n.a.t.c.hed away from him was definitely among them.

“I discovered his return to normalcy on my own. It wasn’t because he took the initiative to inform me. Moreover, he seems to be a bit jealous of DSII. It looks like you have treated DSII too well in the past.”

Theodore especially emphasised the phrase ‘in the past’. Of course, it was in the past! It definitely wasn’t ‘afterwards’ when Devon pretended to treat DSII well!

Devon fell silent. Regarding the matter of having truly treated DSII as Dar’s replacement in the past, he had always felt guilty. Now that Theodore had brought it up, he felt even more upset. Therefore, he completely missed Theodore’s guilty expression.

Looking at the Solaris Emperor’s depressed look, Theodore tried his best to tie his conscience to a large rock, and then sink it to the bottom of the deep ocean.

Devon Solaris seemed a little tired as he said, “I know. Since Dar doesn’t want to tell me, then don’t say anything!”

“Uhh…but you already know, don’t you?” Theodore Avery reminded him.

Devon Solaris growled, “He doesn’t know that I already know he has recovered. That also means that I still don’t know he has already recovered, isn’t that right?”

Know, don’t know, pretending not to know. Aren't you worried that saying such confusing words will get you tongue-tied? This pair of awkward brothers... Theodore shook his head helplessly.

Devon Solaris said impatiently, “In conclusion, don’t b.u.t.t into this! No matter what Dar wants, I will always give it to him. Even if he wants to be willful, it’s fine! Anyway, little brothers will always be willful from time to time.”

Is that so?

Theodore Avery shrugged. If he didn’t need to b.u.t.t in, then that was fine as well. Anyway, he would soon be busy with Yue Baylian’s experiment. At this moment, he suddenly recalled something important. Hastily, he said, “That’s right, there’s something that I need to inform you about. I intend to use DSII’s microchip to save Yue Baylian.”

He felt uncertain while saying this. After all, Devon has once been nice to DSII. Furthermore, DSII looked exactly like Dar. Devon might get angry after hearing that he planned to destroy DSII…

Devon shot a glance at him and casually said, “Oh? Then just do it! Just as well, I’m lacking a secretary, the type that can do everything.”

Theodore fell silent for a while, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “DSII looks exactly the same as Dar, aren’t you reluctant to do this?”

“So what if he looks exactly the same?”

Devon coldly added, “Even if he were a real person and is the same as Dar, from his appearance right down to his genes––even if his personality is exactly the same as Dar’s––did he throw a ball at my face when he was young? Did he wait in that small attic every day, waiting for me to look for him? Did he cry while he hugged my waist, begging me not to leave? Did he make a pinky promise with me, making me swear that I’ll protect him, or else I’d have to drink a lot of bitter melon juice?”

Understanding suddenly dawned on Theodore’s face.

Devon gave a cold laugh, and expressionlessly answered, “DSII is only DSII. He doesn’t share a past with me. He is not my Dar! Since he is not my Dar, then whoever they are, they are all the same. The people who are more useful to me shall stay. Right now, what I lack is a secretary who can do everything, and DSII is not that.”

Devon Solaris looked at Theodore Avery out of the corner of his eyes, his utterly emotionless eyes.

“Understood.” Theodore gave a nod of his head.

After receiving a reply, Devon turned around and headed towards his own study. However, Theodore’s voice rang out behind him. “All the same, I should still tell you that Dar seems to be very happy that Yue Baylian is not dead, and is also looking forward to him being brought back to life.”

Devon paused in his footsteps, spun around and yelled, “Then even if you die, you have to bring Yue Baylian back to life! Otherwise, I’ll put a bullet in your head, understand?”

“...Yes.”

＊＊＊

Daren Solaris furiously burst out from the hidden door. The exit was in a dark alley and he was certain there was no one there. Otherwise, he would have sent out a warning before opening the hidden door.

“Steel Wings, activate!”

Metal unfurled behind his back instantly, forming wings out of the alloyed pieces. To vent his anger, he shot up in flash. Within seconds, he was soaring high in the skies.

His speed was simply too fast. Halfway to school, he actually bowled into a flock of birds, scattering them. The birds had no idea what had just happened, but they circled around the ‘especially large’ bird which had dispersed their formation as though they were a.n.a.lyzing what he was.

Daren stopped in the air. As he flapped his wings, he studied the birds surrounding him. Uncertain whether it was because he had wings as well or because the wild birds were extremely brave, a few of them had actually flown up beside his face, as if they wanted to touch him.

Daren curiously reached his hand out to pet the birds. The birds avoided him at first, but a few of them did eventually let him touch them. Afterwards, one of them even landed on his hand.

At this, he laughed. After he played a while with the bird in his hand, the microchip reminded him that he was soon going to be late.

He was going to be late!

He flew in the direction of the school urgently. Several birds actually followed him, and then the rest of the flock of birds tagged along, too. With Daren at the head of the flock, the birds formed a triangular shape as they flew with him. They were all following behind him, as though Daren was their leader.

Seeing the situation, Daren paused to chase them away. However, the birds were not afraid of him at all. They started circling around him again. This made him feel a bit helpless, but he also found it amusing.

He was going to be late!

Daren Solaris felt that increasingly urgent nudge in his head again. He turned around and accelerated, but behind him, he heard the sound of wings flapping furiously… When he turned to look, the birds were still following him.

He stopped his flight abruptly.

The birds flew past him. After flying for a short distance, they realized that something was not quite right. They turned around and flew back again, hovering around Daren’s side in circles.

“How stupid. Ahahaha, you silly birds!”

Daren couldn’t help but clutch his stomach and laugh heartily.

At this moment, a bird landed onto Daren’s shoulder and pecked him, as if urging him to quicken his pace.

Daren looked in the direction of the school and murmured, “All of you should be migrating south for the winter about this time, right?”

However, the school was in the west.

The bird pecked at him again.