As she spoke, Rory immediately pulled two nutrient solutions from her spatial ring and handed one each to Xarion and Vincent.

"Drink these first. I’ll have Yuel and Jasper prepare grilled meat for you."

Vincent accepted the nutrient solution, a hint of confusion crossing his face.

"Why can’t we have a proper meal?"

Had they run out of ingredients?

"Because Vangar blew up the kitchen."

Yuel walked out of the villa and calmly supplied the explanation.

Rory nodded helplessly.

"This morning, Vangar wanted to learn cooking from Jasper. He made a mistake while handling things... and exploded the kitchen."

Vincent: "..."

Xarion: "..."

Was something wrong with that man’s brain? Why would he suddenly decide to learn cooking? Had he been kicked in the head by a mutant beast?

Rory noticed Xarion’s darkening expression and gently coaxed, "Don’t be upset. The kitchen will be repaired by today."

"Tomorrow, I’ll cook for you personally and make something delicious, alright?"

"Female Master, I’m not angry."

How could Xarion possibly dare get angry in front of her?

Still... being comforted by Rory like this made him ridiculously happy.

He lowered his voice and muttered, "I just think Vangar’s incredibly annoying. He’s only been here a few days and he’s already causing trouble. Honestly, I think we should return him to the Beast God."

At that exact moment, Vangar—fresh from his shower—came downstairs and heard every word.

The instant he stepped into the living room and saw Xarion standing beside Rory, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Xarion, meanwhile, hadn’t noticed him at all. His attention was entirely on Rory.

"Female Master, Vangar’s nothing but trouble," he continued disdainfully.

"What kind of place is Beast God Mountain? If he managed to come back from there alive, it’s probably because even the Beast God couldn’t stand him."

"If even the Beast God rejected him, why should we keep him around? Wouldn’t that just be making life difficult for ourselves? I say we return him while we still can—send him back wherever he came from."

The moment Xarion finished speaking, Vincent suddenly interjected smoothly, "Marshal Vangar. It’s been a long time."

Marshal?

Xarion’s entire body stiffened.

He whipped around toward the doorway.

Vangar stood there, having just bathed. A dark silk robe hung loosely over his broad frame, the collar slightly open to reveal the hard lines of his collarbone.

His short white hair was still damp, stray strands falling carelessly across his forehead, yet not in the slightest diminishing the terrifying pressure he exuded.

His presence was overwhelming, like a blade drawn from its sheath—cold, sharp, and impossible to ignore.

Vangar didn’t even spare Xarion a glance. His gaze settled on Vincent instead, his tone unexpectedly mild.

"There’s no need to be so formal at home. From now on, we’re family. Just call me Vangar."

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Rory, warmth flickering briefly within them.

"Family?" Xarion let out a cold laugh. "You’re only Female Master’s match right now—not her partner. She can dissolve the match with you at any time. So don’t start calling us family yet, Marshal Reed."

The moment those words fell, the tension in the air thickened sharply, like dry tinder waiting for a spark.

Rory caught the flash of cold danger in Vangar’s eyes, and her heart tightened.

Just as she was about to step in, Yuel suddenly tugged lightly at her sleeve.

"Rory, weren’t you going to prepare grilled meat for Xarion and Vincent? I’m not sure which cuts would work best. Could you come to the cold storage with me and help choose?"

He had made grilled meat countless times before.

There was no way he didn’t know which meat to use.

Rory understood instantly––Yuel was deliberately keeping her out of this.

Vincent spoke up at the same time. "Rory, I’d like the marinated sea-beast meat you make. Could you prepare some for me?"

Xarion nodded immediately in agreement.

Even Vangar added calmly, "Female Master, don’t worry about things here. I know my limits."

At that point, Rory understood perfectly. Every single one of them wanted her to leave.

...Fine, then. She would stay out of it.

Rory pulled Yuel along toward the cold storage room.

Once they arrived, she told him to pick out the mutant beast meat and sea-beast meat himself while she sat down near the entrance.

The moment Yuel turned away, Rory swiftly opened the manor’s surveillance system on her light-brain.

She needed to see whether Vincent, Xarion, and Vangar had started fighting yet.

On the open grounds in front of the villa, the instant Rory left, the atmosphere between the three men changed completely.

Vangar stood at the entrance, every trace of the gentleness he’d shown before Rory vanishing without a trace.

He didn’t even move much; he merely lifted his eyes.

And the moment those deep, ice-cold eyes locked onto Xarion, an invisible pressure exploded outward from him like a storm of steel and bloodshed.

Even through the communicator screen, Rory could feel the terrifying oppression radiating from him.

"So," Vangar said at last, his cold voice carrying a faint trace of amusement, "you two want to challenge me?"

Vincent and Xarion dropped all pretense. Xarion stepped forward half a pace, frost gathering across his face.

The silver-white of his eyes sharpened instantly, the savage chill of a top predator erupting from within him. Around him, even the air seemed to crystallize into invisible shards of ice.

"It’s not a challenge," Xarion said coldly, battle intent surging from every word. "We’re here to beat you up."

Gone was the lazy, half-dead demeanor from earlier.

Five years ago, he had lost to Vangar. Now, he intended to win that defeat back.

Vincent remained where he stood, his elegant phoenix eyes fixed calmly on Vangar.

"In the military, you’re my superior. I follow your orders. But in this home..."

His voice turned smooth and measured. "You’ll follow mine."

A quiet pressure spread from him—composed, refined, yet carrying the terrifying authority of someone born to command.

"So now, Marshal... I do challenge you."

Vangar was not an easy man to control.

Vincent worried that once Vangar officially bonded with Rory, he might not listen to her at all. That was why he had agreed to join forces with Xarion in the first place.

If Vangar lost, then no matter how fierce he was, he would have to behave in this household.

Rory’s identity was too special.

Vincent was genuinely happy about Vangar’s return, but at the same time, deeply wary.

Vangar’s status was too high. His temperament too unpredictable. There were simply too many uncontrollable variables.

And Vincent intended to eliminate every single one of them.

Watching through the communicator screen, Rory’s heart tightened painfully at the sight of the three men facing off like drawn blades.

"They’re not actually going to fight... right?"

One Rank Twelve.

Two Rank Elevens.

If they truly went all out, wouldn’t her manor be reduced to dust in seconds?

"No, I need to go stop them."

If the manor was destroyed, fine—she could always buy another one. She had more than enough star coins now.

What truly frightened her was the thought that if Vangar, Vincent, and Xarion genuinely fought, they might end up tearing apart the entire Central District.

"Rory, it’s alright."

Yuel gently caught her arm, stopping her. A faint smile curved his lips as he reassured her.

"Don’t worry. Even if they fight, they won’t do it here in the Central District. And Vangar knows his limits. He won’t actually kill Vincent or Xarion."

Seeing how calm and confident he looked, Rory narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Yuel... did you already guess Vincent and Xarion would make a move against Vangar?"

Yuel tapped lightly on the light-brain screen in her hand and explained,

"I only guessed that Vincent would challenge him. There are too many uncertainties surrounding Vangar. Vincent was never going to feel at ease with that. So he was bound to test him sooner or later."

"As for Xarion..." Yuel paused briefly. "I didn’t know what kind of grudge existed between them, so at first, I wasn’t sure whether he’d actually attack Vangar."

"But now I understand. Xarion once lost to him."