Chapter 179: First Meeting of Man and Boy
As Nero prepared to face an unpredictable encounter, Elly had already arrived at the entrance of a broad and luxurious room. She looked at the beautiful woman in the calm scene that sat on a mat as if medicating when a few maids fixed her long hair.
As if sensing her daughter, the woman's lips parted as she spoke, "Child, come here, sit with mother."
When she said those words, she waved her hand, the maids seeing the bowed before withdrawing from the room. Elly felt a bit puzzled by this, but she still entered the room and sat down obediently at her mother's side.
"Mother, what's wrong? Why did you call me here?"
Madam Balkras didn't answer Elly directly but turned her eyes towards her, giving her deep looks as if trying to penetrate her thoughts. She then asked, "Child, that Nero boy... who is he to you? Could he be—?"
After speaking to here, Madam Balkras said nothing but based on the look on her face; one could understand her implied meaning.
Elly felt shocked at this, her face turning red as she hurriedly denied, "M-mother, what are you saying?! There's no such thing; we are only classmates!"
"Really?" Madam Balkras asked, giving her an even deeper stare as she brought her face closer to hers; the two almost look like twins, with one being older.
Elly blushed and lowered her head as she gripped her fists tightly and replied, "Yes, we really aren't, he's only my tutor, and now he's gone ahead of me. We don't have much time, and you're wasting it."
Madam Balkras squinted her eyes at this, she still didn't believe her daughter's words, but she no longer decided to say anything.
Elly heaved a sigh of relief after seeing her mother's reactions; she peeked at her and cautiously asked, "Mother, is that the only thing you wanted ask? If so, can I go back now?"
Madam Balkras smiled at this with her eyes closed, showing a loving motherly look as she replied, "Yes, that's all, you may leave, but I'm afraid your session with that boy will be postponed for a little while."
Elly felt confused hearing this; she asked, "Huh? Why?"
Madam Balkras opened her closed eyes slightly, showing a meaningful look as she replied, "Oh... and I thought your brother told you, it's simple; that 'bastard' came home, and it appears that he wanted to meet him, just as much as I do."
When Elly heard her mother say - bastard, her face turned pale as she exclaimed, "What, father's home? Oh no!"
Not even daring to wait for another second, Elly ran from the room in a hurry, rushing towards the direction Nero went as if running for dear life.
Madam Balkras looked in the direction her daughter left with her sinister-looking eyes and a sly smile at the corners of his lips, not saying anything as she once more closed them and meditated.
However, outside the room, hidden behind a corridor, Raynas stood silently, watching the direction Elly when with pity in his eyes as he muttered to himself.
"My dear sister... it's too late."
The scene here taking on a dark shift as within the meeting area, oppressive energy had filled the air.
***
The previous dazzling lights vanished as back within the room; a middle-aged man stood silently before Nero. His features square-ish, much like that of Raynas, but with a more mature appearance. He wore a high-quality tuxedo that seemed to be made of unusual sturdy material as it easily contained his bulging biceps that had distorted its shape.
Suddenly, this man stared at Nero with a set of indifferent but vaguely oppressive eyes, as if he was a giant looking down on an ant.
In this instance, Nero felt as if he was standing before a world, an infinite world that was vastly superior to himself in every way. His heart began to pulse violently as his arms trembled a bit when he thought to himself.
'S-such power... if he wants me dead, there's no resistance; I'd be finished.'
Nero thought with a grave appearance; he knew if he didn't say the right things, he's more or likely never going to see another day.
Still, as his thoughts reached here, he soon felt a warm current from the center of his soul, brushing off his feeling of fear caused by the outside influence.
Adult Nero's chuckle soon sounded after as his voice sounded in his mind, "Hey now, don't go shitting yourself in fear; he's not going to kill you. Marlo isn't such a foolish man."
Nero frowned hearing this; true, he did felt fearful of the man before him, but not to the extent that he would soil himself. He felt a bit suspicious that his older self even said that, he thought inwardly.
'I really hope it didn't happen in his life.'
"You brat, like hell it did!" Adult Nero shouted with a voice of rage, but deep in Nero's mind, his face had a tinge of shame, he naturally didn't soil himself, but his actions did back then in this situation were even more embarrassing. Of course, he would never tell Nero such information.
Nero felt even more suspicious at this point, but he didn't dare to confirm it. By this time. Marlo, who finished eying Nero, made a thoughtful look as he pondered to himself.
'Odd, to think that a brat of the novice rank could even resist my oppression, looks like he's not as predictable as I'd imagine. Still, it doesn't matter, daring to mess with my daughter, he'll need to prove his worth today!'
With his mind made up, Marlo spoke in a calm voice, "So you're that boy that has tainted my daughter, you've got some guts to come here, kid."
Nero felt shocked at this; he hurriedly replied, "Sir, I've never done such a thing; I think you've got me confused for someone else."
Marlo snorted at this as he replied in rage, "Confused, then how do you explain this?"
With a wave of his hand, a screen appeared showing Nero and Elly's scene in the rain outside of the Fortune Medical Center. The camera then zoomed in as it showed Nero's face in detail, zoning on his arms, which wrapped around Elly's waist as he whispered in her ear.
"Don't know how to speak? It's fine; I'll 'teach' you today."
When Nero heard his words spoken on the camera, his face turned pale as he thought to himself.
'This... what the hell? How did he get this? Damn, I'm in trouble now!'
Even the bodyguards that escorted looked on in shock, they'd never think he would do such a thing.
Marlo caught Nero's look of shock and smirked; he waved his hand and quickly followed up, "Humph! You want to 'teach' my daughter, fine, but before you do, you'll have to first prove to me that you have such knowledge."
With those words said, Marlo snapped his fingers, causing something to fall from the sky, smashing onto the ground before Nero.
Nero's face turned even darker as he saw the bench with a built-in chair; a thick stack of paper was placed on its surface with the stamp - classified, marked on its surface.
Marlo had a sinister smile as he pointed at the desk and spoke to Nero in an icy tone, "Boy, you won't be able to leave here until you complete that test and if any answer is incorrect. Then forget about reaching my daughter and going home; from this point onward, your faith will be eternally tied to that desk!"
His voice resounding across the room and most of the area, as Nero gulped when he looked at the papers before him, he gritted his teeth in anger, knowing that he couldn't avoid this situation.
'Blast, I've done it now, but I'm not going to be so easily oppressed by some bastard!'
Nero thought with a burning flame in his eyes; even though he had his own misgivings, he was still a prideful youth in his own right and wouldn't allow himself to be bullied by others.
Marlo seemed to have sensed the flaming spirit in Nero's eyes; he smiled and looked at him even more interested as he spoke, "Oh, so you're not going to give up, good, then let's get started, show me your resolve."
The air in the room soon transformed as everyone watched as the first battle between man and boy had begun.