Chapter 18: The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree 【Part 1】

【Eksu PoV】

How did this happen?

How did this escalate so much?

I thought my stay at Elizabeth’s house would be crazy…

But… how the hell did it escalate to this point.

I’m in an arena fighting Elizabeth’s father.

The arena itself was massive.

It was built entirely of stone, surrounded by tall columns carved with intricate symbols.

The seats around us were empty—luckily—so at least no one would witness my humiliation.

Elizabeth’s father stood before me, grinning widely.

He was sixty years old, yet somehow he still looked incredibly young.

His blond hair was neatly combed back, only showing slight touches of gray on the sides.

His deep blue eyes sparkled with excitement and mischief—exactly like Elizabeth’s.

He wore a simple white shirt, rolled up sleeves showing strong, muscular arms.

He held a sword confidently in his hand, slowly walking towards me with calm, graceful steps.

Seriously, how is this guy sixty?

Suddenly he dashed forward, bringing his sword down swiftly.

My 【Absolute Defense】 instantly activated, blocking his strike effortlessly.

He didn’t even flinch. Instead, he laughed.

“Haha, good, perfect, son-in-law! Let’s test your limits!”

Son-in-law?

We just met!

He’s absolutely deranged.

He swung again, this time horizontally.

Again, my 【Absolute Defense】 blocked it, making a small ripple of blue energy in front of me.

I tried stepping back, but he followed relentlessly.

He attacked again and again.

Each strike was precise, almost artistic.

Vertical slash.

Horizontal sweep.

Fast stab.

Each of his moves flowed like water.

Yet, each one failed miserably against my skill.

At some point, he started combining his attacks with acrobatic jumps and spins.

He moved effortlessly, looking like a professional acrobat instead of a sixty-year-old nobleman.

This was getting ridiculous.

“Come on, Eksu-kun, at least show me a little effort! Don’t disappoint your new father-in-law!”

He laughed again, spinning and striking elegantly from above.

I sighed as my skill absorbed the impact yet again.

This family is insane.

Completely insane.

“Come on son-in-law… fight.”

This old man is crazy.

He’s absolutely deranged.

But despite that he’s not angry.

He wants to fight.

But not out of anger.

It’s like he’s accepting me into this crazy family.

Damn…

Ahhhhhhhhhhh

To explain all this madness we’re going to have to go back in time a little to when I arrived at Elizabeth’s mansion.

◆

It took us about 20 minutes to get to Elizabeth’s house.

And I’m going to have to tell you… what a big house…

I don’t know how Elizabeth managed to stay away for so long.

Especially in a village like mine.

I like it there because I’m already used to it.

But she…

Living in the good and the best.

My god.

“Eksu… my parents are on the battlefield right now, they’ll probably be gone a while, so how about we go to our room?”

“I don’t think it’s better…”

If life has taught me anything, it’s…

Not to be alone with her.

My mother has corrupted her to an absurd level already.

I don’t know what she’s capable of doing to get what she wants.

In this case… who she wants is me.

So it’s better not to risk it.

No…

I’m not dense.

I’m cautious.

That’s all.

“But… Eksu…”

“No, it’s not…”

She started to throw a tantrum.

But I already woke up.

Women like her who get everything by shouting or throwing a tantrum can’t be taken lightly.

Or else they’ll start bossing you around.

Like my mother bosses my father around.

If I said no, then… it’s no, period.

“Elizabeth-sama, Siegfried-dono and…”

“Eksu… you can call him Eksu-sama, since he’s going to be my future husband.”

Elizabeth said in a playful tone.

A maid came to welcome us.

She had her hair tied up.

She looked pretty.

“Boooooo…”

Elizabeth booing me.

She seemed a little jealous when she saw that I was staring at the maid.

Before I could say anything, Elizabeth threw a punch straight at my face.

Of course, my 【Absolute Defense】 instantly protected me.

Her punch hit the blue energy shield around my body, sending a ripple through the air.

She didn’t give up.

She tried again and again, each punch more annoyed than the last.

Right hook. Left jab. Another quick jab.

She looked adorable and terrifying at the same time.

After several failed attempts, Elizabeth sighed in frustration and crossed her arms.

I shrugged, trying not to smile.

The maid watched everything quietly, looking as if this happened every day.

Wait… maybe it did.

This is Elizabeth we’re talking about.

The maid accompanied us.

She followed us silently through the gigantic mansion.

Until I saw Elizabeth whispering something to her.

I didn’t like that.

Then…

She took us to a room.

As soon as Elizabeth and I entered, she quickly pulled Siegfried out of the room.

Then she firmly shut the door.

Wait.

What’s happening?

Before I could react, Elizabeth grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bed.

“Eksu… Eksu… you were a bad boy.”

My heart nearly exploded out of my chest.

“What… wait… Elizabeth… calm down…”

She didn’t listen.

She pushed me onto the bed, pinning me down.

My mind was racing, desperately looking for an escape route.