Chapter 1 The Situation

“So, that's why.”

“That's how it is.”

A chandelier hung from the high ceiling of the mansion's dining room, its hundreds of crystal pendants refracting the light into a dazzling display. The gleaming marble floor reflected the three figures standing side-by-side at the table. Their slightly wavering reflections suggested that none of them were at peace.

After more than ten minutes of explanation,

Lan Qi, seated between Talia and Sigrid, had recounted the whole story.

“The Dimensional Bishop just happened to accept the important task of finding a fiancée for you, and he just happened to think we were suitable, so he wanted to give us a surprise and introduce me?”

Sigrid listened to Lan Qi's story with a serious expression, which then softened slightly.

“Toriado, that brat…”

Talia muttered through gritted teeth.

If Toriado had simply sent her a girl who resembled Sigrid, she might have thanked her old demon friend.

But the problem was that this woman wasn't sent to her, but to Lan Qi as a wife, which was unforgivable.

“I was originally thinking that if the Allied Forces and the Dimensional Branch couldn't find a suitable fake fiancée, I'd have Tata cover for me. But today, I just got back from the Shadow World and was halfway through contacting Toriado when he was arrested. This is a serious handover error. I didn't receive you well, and I didn't explain things to Tata in advance. It's all my fault.”

Lan Qi shook his head with a grave expression, sincerely apologizing to both of them.

He placed his hand on the edge of the fine walnut dining table, its corners sharp and distinct. A layer of immaculate lace tablecloth covered the surface, the intricate patterns resembling frost flowers in winter.

“Why was he arrested?”

Sigrid listened to Lan Qi's words and understood a lot more, but she still had doubts.

This Dimensional Bishop seemed a bit unreliable.

It was the first time she had heard of a cardinal being arrested by the local special forces.

“Did he drive you here?”

Lan Qi looked at Sigrid.

Judging by the time Sigrid left the Shadow World, it was impossible for her to find his house at St. Cray Monastery so quickly without a guide. She would definitely get hopelessly lost.

“Yes.”

Sigrid admitted, her blood pressure rising.

She hadn't expected Lan Qi to be able to multitask while apologizing.

“Then Toriado was probably mistaken for a spy from an enemy country monitoring Professor Landri by the Imperial Special Operations Division. Everyone in the Empire is on edge right now, and the Imperial Special Operations Division is always watching me. I'm having a very hard time. Now that you're here too, I'm really sorry to put you through this.”

Lan Qi explained the severity of the current situation in the Southern Continent to Sigrid, his expression complex.

“I see.”

Sigrid listened to Lan Qi's words and couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.

“It doesn't matter if things are difficult. I don't care about that.”

She had just come from the Northern Continent and wasn't yet fully aware of the atmosphere of war.

Looking back, Bu Lierda was indeed quite dangerous. Lan Qi's situation did require him to put on a good show with Tata, otherwise, revealing any flaws would be quite dangerous.

“You 'don't care'? There's already a woman in this house. You should go back to the Rebirth Church. I'll suffer with him.”

Talia found it absurd and chuckled.

“Didn't you hear what he said earlier? You're the 'backup,' so you were placed as the second choice. I'm his preferred choice. It's only natural that I'm the mistress of this house.”

Sigrid's tone was as commanding as a queen, looking towards Talia.

She wasn't content with controlling what was in front of her; she wanted to conquer everything within her sight.

“Don't misunderstand, okay? If it weren't for a little problem with our bodies, there wouldn't have been any other options for fake fiancées.”

Talia sat gracefully on the left, her beautiful figure outlined by a beige silk dress. A few strands of hair casually fell beside her ears. She wore a faint smile, but her golden eyes cast a sharp gaze at the other side, wanting to see through her enemy.

“His body is fine. Why haven't I had any problems with him? The problem must be yours, right?”

On the right, Sigrid had changed from her previous liveliness. Her silver bell-like laughter echoed in every corner of the dining room, but that smile was like a carefully arranged mask, unable to conceal the domineering nature within.

Her slender fingers unconsciously fiddled with the napkin, ready to grab Lan Qi's collar at any moment.

“You…”

Lan Qi felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

“You be quiet.”

The two women ordered in unison.

“…”

He stiffly maintained the upward curve of his lips, occasionally sipping some hot coffee from his cup. Whenever he tried to say something, his throat felt choked by the gaze of the two women, unable to make a sound.

The silence was particularly unbearable in this afternoon that should have been warm.

As the food cart was slowly pushed in, Little Cat hid at the very bottom of the cart, using telekinesis to present the delicacies one by one on silver platters. The exquisite crystal goblets were filled with deep red grape juice, and the utensils made a soft, crisp sound as they gently collided, but all of this couldn't dilute the strange atmosphere that permeated the dining room.

First to be placed on the table was an enticing cream of mushroom soup, the soup as smooth as silk, the surface dotted with tender green parsley. The dense cream and delicious mushrooms blended perfectly, telling of the bounty of nature.

Next was a plate of secret-recipe foie gras with golden crispy bread. The pink foie gras was crystal clear, emitting an alluring luster. The bread slices had been baked until golden brown and crispy. Spreading the foie gras on the crispy bread was like adorning it with sparkling jewels.

The main course was slow-cooked short ribs with truffle cheese. The short ribs had been meticulously stewed in red wine for several hours, the meat extremely tender and juicy, with a rich marrow flavor. The surface was sprinkled with a layer of grated black truffle, which complemented the melted cheese, emitting an evil temptation that even cats found hard to resist.

As a side dish, there was also a plate of asparagus with herb butter. The verdant asparagus was like the new shoots of early spring, exuding the breath of the earth. The steamed asparagus was crisp and refreshing, and after being drizzled with herb butter, it added a rich aroma.

There were still many dishes that Sid liked that Cat Boss was urgently preparing, but for now, they could only serve the originally planned regular dishes first.

Cat Boss knew that if he let them keep talking, Lan Qi would probably really be finished.

“Cat Boss, is that you?”

“What's there to be afraid of? Cat Boss, my best friend.”

Talia and Sigrid's gazes both glanced towards the bottom of the food cart, startling it into a tremor.

Cat Boss sped up, placing all the plates on the table.

“I, I still have things on the stove, meow!”

The food cart catapulted itself towards the kitchen.

What it feared was that Tata and Sid would both want it to take sides.

They were both its good friends.

It couldn't choose!

Lan Qi's pleading gaze hadn't even reached Cat Boss before he saw Cat Boss disappear, and could only reach out his hand towards it.

He was now filled with regret.

He had played this round badly.

The support had pinged the signal like crazy!

As a result, the next second he was face-checking the jungler.

The utensils lay quietly on the trolley; he didn't dare touch them easily.

The gazes the two women cast at Lan Qi were like two sharp blades, eager to gain his favor, yet fearing the outcome of defeat.

“I think… considering the importance of the mission, the danger of the Empire, and the trust of the organization, I need a good wife who can cooperate with me in acting and is understanding…”

Lan Qi spoke softly, muttering vaguely to himself.

He hoped the two of them could remain restrained.

“…”

Talia and Sigrid were both quiet for a while.

They could hear the hidden meaning in Lan Qi's words.

At this time, it wasn't good for either of them to tear off the facade.

After all, it was an accident that had resulted in Professor Landri having two fiancées in his home.

The culprit was that Jailor.

If he hadn't been taken away by the Imperial Special Operations Division, he could have explained the problem to them.

But at this point, both of them were already in the house. If one of them too forcefully drove the other away, it would make her seem like a wicked woman.

Just then, Sigrid, who had been acting quietly, suddenly made a move.

She picked up the silver spoon beside her and gently scooped up a spoonful of the cream of mushroom soup from the small bowl in front of her, holding her other hand under the spoon to prevent any soup from dripping.

Her movements were natural and composed, making it all seem self-evident.

The soup in the spoon shimmered enticingly in the light, and the misty heat swirled around her fingertips.

“Here, Lan Qi, try this soup. Be careful, it's hot.”

Sigrid leaned slightly forward, bringing the spoon to Lan Qi's mouth.

Her voice was as sweet as honey, yet it contained a hint of resoluteness that brooked no refusal.

Lan Qi's body stiffened.

He realized that he had to drink this spoonful of soup no matter what.

Lan Qi mechanically opened his mouth, letting the warm soup slide in.

The richness of the cream and the deliciousness of the mushrooms bloomed on his tongue, but he had no heart to savor it, only feeling uneasy.

He didn't dare look at Talia's expression at this moment, but he could feel the gaze shooting from his left, almost burning a hole in his face.

And the culprit, Sigrid, seemed completely unaware.

Sigrid's eyes glanced past Lan Qi towards Talia, a subtle smile playing on her lips, as if silently declaring something.

She nonchalantly used the same spoon she had just fed Lan Qi with to start eating herself.

“…”

Talia clenched the napkin in her hand, her knuckles white from the force.

Her eyes grew increasingly gloomy, like the surface of a sea brewing a storm, ready to unleash towering waves at any moment.

The atmosphere at the table had been ignited.

Talia then refused to be outdone.

She imitated Sigrid's actions, picking up the knife and fork beside her and cutting off a small piece of foie gras with crispy bread for Lan Qi, bringing it to his face.

“Lan Qi, ah, your teacher will feed you.”

Her voice was as smooth as velvet, but it made Lan Qi feel flustered.

Lan Qi's gaze darted between the two women, trapped in a dilemma.

He saw Sigrid's eyes instantly turn cold, like sharp ice picks, silently warning him not to accept Talia's feeding.

But Talia clearly wasn't going to give Lan Qi a chance to refuse.

Her index finger and thumb gently pinched Lan Qi's cheeks, making him open his mouth, and she took the opportunity to put a small corner of bread into his mouth.

Lan Qi mechanically chewed the food in his mouth, the richness of the foie gras and the crispness of the crispy bread spreading on his tongue, but he couldn't taste anything, only feeling Sigrid's gaze, which almost froze him into an ice sculpture.

Sigrid's provocation undoubtedly added fuel to the fire, and Lan Qi became a sacrifice in this contest.

Talia didn't stop there.

She picked up the napkin next to her, like a caring girlfriend, or a mother, carefully wiping Lan Qi's mouth.

Her movements were so gentle, as if she was cherishing her treasure.

Her slender index finger occasionally lightly touched Lan Qi's lips, seemingly an unintentional mistake, yet seemingly an intentional tease.

Each touch made Lan Qi's heart skip a beat, fearing that this subtle little action would ignite Sigrid's anger.

The air almost solidified, and even breathing became difficult.

Sigrid clenched the napkin in her hand, her well-groomed nails almost digging into her palm.

Her eyes grew increasingly sinister, like a lioness whose territory had been invaded, ready to tear everything in front of her to shreds at any moment.

Talia defiantly raised her chin, a victorious smile playing on her lips.

Her eyes swept past Sigrid, briefly glanced at Lan Qi, and then returned to Sigrid, as if silently declaring—

This is my man.

“…”

Where their gazes met, sparks were about to fly, their fighting spirit was high, and they both gripped the utensils in their hands.

…

For the next several minutes,

Sigrid and Talia seemed to be competing, stuffing something into Lan Qi's mouth every now and then.

The utensils had become instruments of torture.

Lan Qi had almost tasted every dish on the table, but it all tasted like wax.

Every second felt like torture.

Lan Qi felt like he was nailed to the dining chair, unable to move, only to be manipulated by the two women.

Suddenly,

Lan Qi hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief,

When he discovered that two spoons had appeared in front of him at the same time!

The worst-case scenario had happened.

One was filled with slow-cooked short ribs, the meat tender and juicy, and the other was filled with asparagus with herbs, verdant and dripping.

“No, ladies.”

Lan Qi was completely dumbfounded.

He widened his eyes, his gaze darting back and forth between the two spoons, his mind blank.

Originally, being fed by these two in turn, being glared at by Sigrid when Talia fed him, and being glared at by Talia when Sigrid fed him, he had almost experienced the same kind of torment as the fully automatic merit machine in the Sanctuary villains' banquet and was almost unbearable.

As a result, the two of them had just happened to bid against each other and simultaneously offered him food.

“Here, try this.”

Sigrid's voice was nonchalant, but her eyes were as cold as ice, warning the Holy Son not to accept Tata's food.

“No, you should try this first.”

Talia's tone similarly ignored Sigrid, focusing only on Lan Qi.

“I…”

Lan Qi felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

“Listen to me.”

Sigrid repeated.

“Don't listen to outsiders. I'm your family. Uncle Noel said that the Wilford family is my home.”

Talia said in her usual calm tone.

“That's because you have nowhere else to go, right? People only said that because they pitied you.”

Sigrid's words were also full of aggression.

Lan Qi's emerald green pupils kept looking left and right at the food offered by the two of them, a hint of panic now appearing in his eyes.

Making a choice meant death.

But if he didn't make a choice, and the two wolfish sisters got tired of feeding him, it would be even more death.

Just then, the door to the kitchen plucked up its courage again and opened on its own.

Cat Boss shakily pushed the food cart over, continuing to serve them dishes.

“Cat Boss!”

Lan Qi saw a savior and called out softly,

“Excuse me, Cat Boss, I feel a little uncomfortable in my chest. Do you have any drinks that can warm the body?”

Lan Qi looked at Cat Boss, almost teary-eyed, the hand holding the glass trembling.

His voice sounded painful and hoarse, like an injured beast, yet trying to hide his stubborn illness.

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

Cat Boss nodded his head, then used telekinesis to take the empty cup from Lan Qi's hand and walked towards the wine cabinet in the distance, preparing to serve him according to Lan Qi's request.

Next,

Lan Qi looked very much like a person with a physical and mental disability, his trembling hands trying to hold the utensils, while making a wooing moan.

He wanted to muddle through and avoid this difficulty.

“Old, old problem.”

Lan Qi explained.

“I can vouch for Lan Qi, meow. He had an acute illness for the first time in the restaurant of the Purgatory Corridor Academy…”

Cat Boss hurriedly spoke up for Lan Qi.

It knew that Lan Qi was really out of ideas and had been forced to start acting like a disabled person.

The sins he had committed at the Purgatory Corridor Academy were finally being repaid.

“Woo…”

Lan Qi was moved and wanted to hug Cat Boss.

Only Cat Cat was his forever friend.

“Cat Boss, don't interrupt.”

Talia and Sigrid said again at the same time, breaking Lan Qi's thoughts.

Cat Boss's mouth turned into an X, not daring to move.

It just quietly served the dishes.

Sigrid grabbed Lan Qi's right hand, her palm touching his palm, and closed her eyes to think for a while.

“His aura is very normal. There's nothing wrong with your body. It seems that the old problem is gone.”

Sigrid diagnosed him.

As a top martial artist, their auras were now connected, and there was no way she couldn't sense Lan Qi's physical condition.

Talia also silently took Lan Qi's other hand.

“Your magic power is also very calm. You're just simply shaking.”

The two held his hands, one on the left and one on the right.

Lan Qi just wanted to take the utensils himself, but this time he had no hands available.

With two Rank 8s beside him, their power was on a completely different level from his.

Being held by these two, even slowly interlocked with his hands, locked his hands, making him unable to move.

Only the spoon was waiting in front of him for him to make his final choice.

Lan Qi's expression changed dozens of times in an instant, realizing that he could learn from the emotional tribulation the pain that even the Black Sun Tyrant had never experienced.

“Heh, haha…”

The two couldn't tell if he was crying or laughing.

He seemed to be going crazy.

“You all like to play like this, treating me like a child, good!”

Lan Qi leaned back in his chair, shouting in a state of exasperated resignation,

“Then whoever wants to be my mom can feed me.”

He was also rarely angry, directly giving up resistance and waiting to be fed.

As soon as the words fell,

Talia and Sigrid both hesitated a little.

Cat Boss poked its ears out from behind the food cart.

It was as nervous as Lan Qi, listening to Lan Qi's extreme actions.

This time, Lan Qi seemed to be completely desperate.

Lan Qi started to go hard, dragging them along with him to explode.

Whoever fed him would be Mom, actively declaring the loss of fiancée status.

Talia and Sigrid reluctantly slowly withdrew the spoons.

Neither did they start eating themselves, nor did they let go of Lan Qi's hand.

Like reluctant to give up.

The two were very restrained in competing, and the result was that they couldn't use their strength and were full of fire.

Now they were extinguished and called to stop.

The only thing they didn't want to let go of was Lan Qi's hand.

It seemed that whoever let go would lose completely.

But if they didn't let go, Lan Qi couldn't eat either, so someone had to feed him.

The chain of logic was stuck here.

The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.

“…”

Lan Qi felt the two quiet down.

He tentatively felt that his disarming work had passed a key step.

Next, to comfort the two of them well.

Slowly make both of them happy.

At the same time, don't step on their landmines.

Also, don't let them teach each other vigorously.

Then try to find a way to separate them after lunch and chat with them individually.

This longest lunch finally had the hope of ending peacefully!

At the moment when Lan Qi was still in a beautiful fantasy.

Suddenly,

Talia seemed unable to hold back her temper.

She stood up, making the chair shake.

“What a good big son of Mom, we usually like to play this, I'll continue to feed you.”

Talia hugged Lan Qi's head, her cheeks flushed, saying to Lan Qi and to Sigrid with provocative meaning.

She must win today, even if she played something shameful with Lan Qi, it didn't matter.

This was also a declaration of war.

Could this little girl do it?

“…”

Lan Qi's brain stopped working.

His eyes were white.

He felt that he had fallen into a hallucination space, from the origin of the universe to the birth of the first life underwater, from the law of universal gravitation to the mass-energy equation, all the knowledge in the world flashed through his mind.

Cat Boss was also stupid, his cat mouth open and unable to close.

Originally, Lan Qi's suicide-style threat would definitely be applicable to Sigrid and Hyperion's interrogation situation, neither of them would be too abstract.

Only Talia wouldn't indulge Lan Qi.

She was more abstract than Lan Qi.

At the moment when Lan Qi disconnected, the contradiction between Sigrid and Talia broke out in an instant.

“Who do you think you are? Why are you stealing my man?”

Sigrid's tone rose a few degrees, standing up.

“Your man? Don't make me laugh.”

Talia refused to be outdone, her tone undisguised with sarcasm and disdain,

“He's obviously closest to me, can't you see that?!”

“Stop being sentimental!”

Sigrid's palms trembled, constantly clenching, ready to strike at any moment,

“Holy Son, tell her about the vows we made in the Northern Continent! You're going to marry me when you reach Rank Six, this fiancée position was originally mine!”

“Lan Qi, don't listen to her! We've done so many things together, you can't be separated from me in this life!”

Talia's voice was sweet and seductive, hugging Lan Qi tighter.

“You shameless cat…! Take it off.”

Sigrid's face was covered with black lines,

“I told you to let him go.”

She grabbed Talia's wrist and ordered.

“Why should I let go of my baby, you're interfering too much! This is my home!”

Talia felt that her wrist was clamped by steel bars, unable to resist the other party's strength, but she was still fighting hard to defend her Lan Qi.

“He's not your baby.”

Sigrid was afraid of hurting Lan Qi, so she didn't use her full strength.

“He's mine, he's already mine in this life!”

Talia shouted.

“Joke…”

Sigrid's laughter trembled.

“Look how peacefully he's lying on my chest, I'm telling you, I used to hold him like this and let him fall asleep.”

Talia deliberately straightened her chest, declaring to Sigrid.

“Let him go, this is the last warning.”

Sigrid was about to lose her patience.

“Are you planning to fight me?”

Talia was already prepared to use magic to fight a strong enemy.

This little girl shouldn't cry and call Mom in her dreams later.

She could use the method of teaching Karen to give the wild girl a lesson.

She came to teach this wild girl how to be a good woman.

“Don't cry when I press you to the ground and hurt you later, I originally wanted to save you some face.”

Sigrid also made a decision.

First putting aside the Holy Son, she increasingly wanted to conquer this big gray cat who had angered her.

She should have let the other party feel the absolute gap in power long ago, understanding the high and low status of females.

“Meow meow meow! Don't fight!”

Cat Boss's whole body bristled, this home was about to be torn down by the two who had lost their minds.

If Tata and Sid fought, even with the barrier, it wouldn't hold up!

“Ah ah…”

Lan Qi's brain began to buzz.

The voices of the two made his brain tremble.

“Ah ah ah!”

Lan Qi screamed失声.

He seemed to have the心灵裂创 back, and it expanded at this moment.

When encountering emotional fluctuations, he would recall the most tragic memories, which would make him painful and produce hallucinations, and all he could do was force crying or force laughing to get through these few seconds.

Cat Boss looked at Lan Qi in surprise.

He seemed to be a little crazy.

It didn't know if he was pretending or really collapsing.

Cat Boss's eyelids jumped.

Teacher Da Lan was forced to pretend to be crazy.

It had never seen Lan Qi forced to come up with some strange tricks in succession.

“Is the心灵裂创 acting up?”

Talia noticed Lan Qi's condition and instantly shifted her attention to the Lan Qi in her arms, hurriedly stroking Lan Qi's forehead with worry.

Sigrid also didn't know what had happened.

She only knew that Lan Qi had just experienced the pain of the Black Sun Tyrant in the Shadow World.

Throughout the Shadow World, Lan Qi's understanding of the Black Sun Tyrant continued to increase.

And this process allowed her to empathize with him at all times, understanding that Lan Qi was not too comfortable in the entire Eternal Punishment Immortal End Shadow World, experiencing a tempering and a new understanding.

Lan Qi gradually passed out, being gradually placed steadily in the chair by Talia, letting him lean against the back of the chair.

“Are you… Kaliyera… Sigrid…?”

Lan Qi's vision was blurry through his eyelids, his pupils were dilated,

“Don't quarrel, you are the best relatives…”

He said dreamily.

Until the voice completely disappeared.

“…”

Talia and Sigrid were both stunned when they heard this.

They looked at each other with complex expressions, and then looked away.

Sure enough, it wasn't just herself who would recognize the wrong person, even Lan Qi would hallucinate and mistake this woman.

Thinking this way, it wasn't good to get angry with the woman in front of her.

Recalling the blood月坏世影世界, if Sigrid or Kaliyera had some feelings for Lan Qi, it wasn't impossible to understand.

The two had thousands of thoughts in their hearts.

Even if the other party was not the real person, but a person who was overly similar, they really didn't want to be at odds with each other. If possible, they still wanted to get along well, understand each other better, and continue that pleasant experience, indulging in the warmth that they thought they would never experience again like the血月坏世.

The silence lasted for a long time, and the two each held one of Lan Qi's hands.

If they continued to fight like this, Lan Qi might not be able to continue the mission of the 克瑞?帝国.

Finally,

“I say, why don't we try to make do with the three of us, anyway, there's no problem with Professor Landri having two fake fiancées.”

Sigrid compromised, declaring that they were all fake fiancées.

She wouldn't make this concession to any other woman.

But today it was strange, this big gray cat who stole the fish became gentle, always reminding her of the dear Kaliyera, unable to resist the smell on the other party's body.

“We two won't touch him in non-essential occasions, live a good life, and not hurt the harmony?”

Talia asked tentatively.

She thought she might be crazy to answer the other party's words.

Helplessly, when this arrogant little wild wolf didn't rush into her, she looked too much like her precious Sigrid.

“Yes, let's get along well. This is not only good for him, but also good for us. Can you agree?”

“No problem.”

The two hit it off and shook hands, signing the 西塔互不侵犯条例.

“Now that things have come to this, let's eat first.”

Talia's calm gaze turned to the table again. She was actually starving.

“Well, thank you for your hospitality.”

Sigrid was slightly surprised by the other party's generosity.

She was still quarreling a moment ago, and the next moment she was calling her to eat together.

Then she couldn't be fussy either.

“It's okay.”

The atmosphere at the table gradually became harmonious.

In the distance, at the kitchen door.

The black cat head poked out again.

“Meow?”

This could be reconciled?

Cat Boss breathed a sigh of relief.

It didn't know why, but it finally stabilized miraculously.

This home didn't explode.

It was too dreamy, Talia could actually reach a historic reconciliation with Sigrid.

This time, Teacher Da Lan seemed to have hit a big luck, turning the overturned car back over, and his confidence would probably rise a lot again.

It's just…

Can the three of them really live together…?

Although Lan Qi and his two fiancées living under the same roof may be full of various dangers in the following period of time.

But as long as no one in this family breaks this hard-won balance, with Teacher Lan's ability, maybe it can really get better, meow!