Noir Displays His Sword-Skills Again

Auntie Ela, Jovis, Luna and Lars rushed up to greet Solis.

"Congratulations on your recovery and your engagement, Solis," Auntie Ela said with a forced smile.

Noir had to admire her ability to adapt.

"Is this why you were avoiding us for all these months?" Luna demanded. "You could have at least told us that you were recovering!"

Solis didn't even bother to respond.

"Congratulations, Solis," Lars said in a warm voice, his eyes fixed on Solis's face. He completely ignored Noir.

Jovis held out his hand to Solis. "Congratulations, Big Brother," he said quietly.

Noir stepped in front of Solis, preventing him from shaking hands with his brother.

Jovis raised an eyebrow. "Are you so possessive that you won't even let Big Brother be touched by his own family members?" he mocked.

Noir smiled grimly, happy to have this ready-made excuse. "Indeed," he said to Jovis. "Solis is mine now, and no one except me can touch his skin!" he declared possessively.

Boss Gaia, who had been watching the drama play out with great amusement, laughed. "And what about you, little Noir? Can other people touch you?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Noir announced proudly. "Only Solis and no one else!"

"Ah, young love," an elderly man sighed, walking up to them. "How adorable."

"But isn't that a little too unreasonable?" a young woman next to him asked loudly.

"Yes, even if you're his fiancé, you can't control him like this," a young man, who looked like the twin of the young woman, added.

"Chairman Jean of Behemoth, the biggest rival of our Boss's business, and his twin grandchildren, Diana and Diedre," Alpha informed Noir.

"Noir may simply be little insecure about their relationship," Auntie Ela spoke up in a pacifying manner. "They have only known each other for a few months."

"Yes, after all, he's a little nobody from who knows where," Luna added viciously. "Who knows when Big Brother will be tired of him?" She sent a provocative look at Noir.

Noir barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

Solis slipped an arm around Noir's waist and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, my little darling," he said. "I won't let anyone except you touch me."

"Good," Noir said with a satisfied smile.

A lot of faces around them turned sour and ugly.

"Who is this kid that's won Solis over?" came a booming voice, and a distinguished looking elderly lady appeared.

Solis's eyes lit up. "Teacher Artemis," he greeted. "Teacher, this is my fiancé, Noir, and Noir, this is Teacher Artemis. I've told you about her before."

Noir nodded. This was the one person in the world who had been unconditionally good to Solis. She had taught him to fight, to use weapons, to recognise good and bad. She'd been more of a mother to Solis than Auntie Ela.

Noir smiled at her and bowed politely. "Thank you for taking care of Solis, Teacher Artemis," he said. "If you have some free time, would you like to spend a few days with us?"

"Ah, what a beautifully mannered child," Teacher Artemis exclaimed. She grinned at Solis. "You got yourself a good little one, it seems." She turned back to Noir. "But are you capable of keeping people's hands off your Solis? There are many who covet him, you know."

"I'm well aware," Noir said wryly. "It can't be helped. Solis is magnificent, after all, so I can't blame others for falling for him." His eyes sharpened. "But that doesn't mean that I'll let them lay a finger on him."

"Can you fight?" Teacher Artemis asked curiously.

"A little," Noir said.

"What is your preferred weapon?" she asked.

"A sword," Noir replied.

"Let's spar, then," she said. She pointed at a bodyguard. "You – get us a couple of swords!"

The bodyguard looked at Solis apprehensively. Solis nodded his acquiescence, so the man went and fetched a couple of antique swords from the hotel's shopping area. They weren't too effective for actual combat, but would be good enough for a friendly sparring match.

Under the astonished eyes of the guests, Teacher Artemis, who was known as the undefeated fighting champion, fought with Noir, whose movements with the sword were so elegant that he looked like he was dancing instead of fighting.

Most people had expected Noir to lose within a minute – but to their surprise, he was still standing strong half an hour later!

Noir didn't pay too much attention to the sparring. His eyes were fixed on Solis all along. Although there were several bodyguards around him, Noir was wary of people approaching him with nefarious intentions, especially his family members.

Jovis's hands had been generously coated with the neurotoxin – and that was the real reason why Noir had stopped Solis from shaking hands with him. Noir suspected that every member of Solis's family, either knowingly or unknowingly, had the neurotoxin smeared on them. If any of them came in contact with Solis now, a significant part of their efforts over the last three months would be wasted, especially since Noir still didn't have the last two ingredients he needed.

With a corner of his eye, Noir spotted Lars approaching Solis, and reaching out to touch his shoulder.

The next instant, Lars fell back with a cry of alarm, clutching his hand. A coin-sized bruise was beginning to appear on his hand.

Simultaneously, with a seemingly careless move, Noir sent Teacher Artemis's sword flying and bowed hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Artemis," he said. "We'll spar properly on a later date, when we aren't surrounded by so many distractions."

Teacher Artemis laughed heartily. "Good shot!" she called at his rapidly retreating back, watching the young man appear nimbly at Solis's side. She was very satisfied with her favourite pupil's fiancé!

Luna and Lars were glaring hatefully at Noir.

"How dare you injure my husband?!" Luna yelled, trying to slap Noir.

Delta caught her arm silently and threw her back.

Lars stood up from the ground, clutching his hand painfully. "Isn't this a bit excessive on your fiancé's part?" he asked Solis mildly. "Other than the fact that I'm married to your sister, aren't we also childhood friends? Did Noir really need to hit me like this?"

"As his childhood friend, shouldn't you know better than anyone that Solis detests physical contact?" Teacher Artemis said loudly. "I see that you haven't improved over the years, Lars."