Love Across the Light Years -The Devil CEO Indulges My Lies.-Chapter 44: If Demon finds out … he wouldn’t spare him.
Karl stiffened for a moment.
Seeing Jasper and Felix enter, he turned to the server and dismissed him calmly.
"You may leave now."
The server inclined his head and exited quickly, gripping the vial tightly in his hand. If he dropped it ... he wouldn’t be able to compensate even with his life.
Jasper watched the man leave before turning back to his brother.
"What are you up to this time?"
Karl looked up at him and pursed his lips.
"Why do you always assume I am up to some mischief? Can’t I be serious for once?"
Jasper exchanged a glance with Felix before looking back at the youngest.
"Seriousness hasn’t touched you yet," he said flatly, his gaze travelling over Karl from head to toe. "If it had, we would have to worry about you every single day."
With that, he walked past him and took a seat on the couch, clearly uninterested in arguing further.
"..."
Karl pointed a finger at himself, watching Jasper settle down. He wanted to argue —but when he searched his memory, he realized there wasn’t a single solid example he could use to defend himself.
Embarrassed, he shut his mouth and sighed deeply.
Thank goodness he realized it early.
His record will finally change today.
After all ... what he was about to do would prove just how serious he had become. He wasn’t only thinking about himself anymore —he was thinking about Eira ... and even his brothers.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Felix approach until a hand tapped his shoulder.
Karl blinked and looked up.
Felix watched him with narrowed eyes. "Now will you tell us why exactly you called us here like this?"
Karl lifted his chin slightly. "Obvious, to prove something."
Felix’s brows furrowed in confusion. He glanced towards Jasper, only to find him equally clueless.
"Prove what?" Jasper frowned.
Karl turned his head from one brother to other. He didn’t explain immediately. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing slowly, like someone preparing to present a grand strategy.
"That I am capable of handling important matters. That I can take responsibility and can ... make decisions for this family as well."
Felix stepped away from him and leaned against the wall, the furrow between his brows deepening. "That sounds concerning already."
Jasper gave him a brief look. They were clearly thinking the same thing.
Hearing the distrust in their tone, Karl felt like protesting —but realizing he was partly responsible for building such a reputation, he pressed his lips into a thin line and continued.
"I observed carefully. For a long time. I analyzed personality, compatibility, emotional stability, external pressure, long-term outcomes —"
Jasper raised his hand, already at the edge of his patience. "Speak in human language."
Karl pursed his lips. "What I am saying is that I solved a major problem for our family. You two can now finally rest assured."
Silence.
Felix spoke first. "We are never short of problems. Specify, Karl."
Karl felt proud. Leaning forward slightly, he spoke in a nearly smug tone. "I am referring to our biggest concern —the one that has kept all of us worried for quite some time now."
Jasper’s eyes narrowed. Even Felix looked confused.
Seeing their expressions, Karl deflated a little. His excitement dimmed. "What? You still can’t guess? You two are such killjoys."
"Karl ..."
"I am talking about the problem regarding Eira’s mother. Weren’t we all concerned for her?"
Felix frowned. "What did you do?"
Karl continued, proudly. "I found someone perfectly suitable."
A pause.
"Suitable ... for what?" Jasper spoke slowly.
Karl’s smile widened. "Of course, suitable to become Eira’s mother. And a perfect candidate to become our sister-in-law —our older brother’s wife."
Jasper and Felix exchanged another look.
Then, Jasper stood up, shaking his head. "That’s it. You see? This is exactly why I don’t trust him."
Karl’s jaws dropped. He pointed at himself, turning to Felix as if demanding support.
Felix exhaled in exhaustion, pushing himself off the wall. "Karl, this isn’t the first time we’ve talked about this. And you know very well that no matter what we do, Brother won’t simply agree to marry anyone. We’ve tried many times. You know what happened each time."
Karl shook his head, trying to interject, "I—"
But Felix didn’t let him. "He refuses every time."
"He won’t this time," Karl insisted, confident. "He ..."
"You sure are recklessly overconfident," Jasper said coolly, tucking his hands into his pockets.
"I am telling you, he won’t ..."
"And what makes you so confident?"
"My arrangement," Karl replied, spreading his hands. "I am confident my carefully planned arrangement won’t fail this time."
Jasper paused. An ominous feeling settled in his gut.
Even Felix’s frown deepened.
"What did you do, Karl?"
Karl ignored the question and continued boasting instead.
"I carefully evaluated her temperament, resilience, compatibility potential, emotional responsiveness, and most importantly, her endurance. After thorough consideration, I selected the most appropriate woman to become our sister-in-law."
He then turned to Jasper confidently. "And she isn’t someone unfamiliar. Jasper knows her."
When Jasper’s expression didn’t change, Karl sighed and revealed, "It’s Melissa —the actress under your company. The prettiest one. Haven’t you been quite appreciative of her? That helped me in selecting her."
Recognition flashed in Jasper’s eyes, and his jaw tightened. But that wasn’t what made him move.
Instead —
He stepped forward for an entirely different reason.
"Cut the chase and tell me what exactly you did? What is this arrangement of yours that will make Brother agree? Don’t make me repeat myself."
Karl swallowed. "You are older than me, but don’t scare me, Jasper. I am doing something great for all of us. Don’t make it sound like something wrong."
Felix stepped in, his tone calmer. "Karl, Big Brother doesn’t like interference in his decisions. None of us dares to cross that line. So, tell us what you did. If you did something, we need to know how to save you."
Felix’s words struck Karl harder than Jasper’s glare.
Although his intentions had been good ... he had indeed crossed a line.
He had played against the demon. He had thought about it before, but not of its severity.
If Big Brother found out ... he wouldn’t spare him.
A chill crept up Karl’s spine. For the first time, the consequences he had ignored became painfully clear.
Both Jasper and Felix noticed the shift in his expression. They had suspected something earlier —now they were certain.
Jasper was about to grab him, but Felix stopped him first. Instead, he held Karl by the arms and forced him to face him.
"Karl. Tell me. What exactly did you do? Why are you so sure Brother won’t refuse this time? You didn’t —"
"Aphrodisiac," Karl blurted out before he could lose his nerve.
The word came so quickly that both Jasper and Felix failed to catch it.
"...What?"
"You, what?"
Karl swallowed again. "I arranged for someone to give him an aphrodisiac."
Silence exploded in the room —heavy, suffocating, almost deadly.
