Chapter 404: Burnt Dumpling
"Just shift back and let me see. Just one look, I really want to see it."
Rory’s voice was like honey, incredibly sweet, drilling straight into Vincent’s heart.
Vincent’s body stiffened for a fraction of a second.
He was weakest against Rory acting coquettishly like this. Every time she spoke in that soft, sweet tone, any principles he had were thrown completely out the window.
"Just one look?"
There was a hint of an undetectable struggle in Vincent’s voice, his gaze already starting to waver.
"Mhm, mhm, just one look!"
Seeing that it was working, Rory nodded happily, her eyes shining brightly with anticipation as she looked at him.
Seeing her so happy and expectant, Vincent didn’t want to ruin her mood.
"Alright."
He nodded in resignation, his voice full of indulgent affection.
"You’re not allowed to laugh at me."
Vincent still added a warning, not entirely at ease. That dark history was honestly the only blemish on his otherwise glorious and majestic life.
"I won’t laugh, I won’t laugh. I promise!"
Rory raised three fingers, making a solemn vow. She honestly just thought it was cute—she absolutely didn’t mean to mock him!
Vincent gave her a deep look, and in the next second, he closed his eyes.
A ball of soft, golden flame appeared out of thin air, enveloping his entire form. The flame wasn’t scorching hot; instead, it carried a wave of gentle warmth.
Once the light dissipated, the tall, handsome man was gone.
In his place on the sofa sat a dark, plump little fat bird.
"Burnt Dumpling!"
Rory looked at the familiar little black bird before her, laughing with pure joy.
Vincent tilted his head up, looking at her helplessly.
"Alright, you’ve seen it. Can I shift back now?"
Vincent had just finished speaking, and before Rory could even answer, a creak echoed through the room.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
Vangar’s tall silhouette appeared at the doorway.
"Rory..."
Rory looked at Vangar as he walked in and asked, "Vangar, why did you come over? Do you need something?"
Vangar walked over, and just as he was about to sit down next to Rory, his gaze suddenly landed on the dark lump of a thing on the sofa.
"What on earth is this thing?"
Vangar stared at the black fluffball on the sofa and reached out to poke it twice.
"Why is it so black? It’s really ugly."
Vincent: "..."
"He is..."
Just as Rory was about to explain, Vincent on the sofa suddenly let out two sharp chirps. "Chirp, chirp..."
Relying on her past experience living with him, Rory instantly understood Vincent’s meaning. He didn’t want Vangar to know it was him.
Which made sense! If Vangar found out this was Vincent, he would never let him hear the end of it.
"What’s wrong?"
Seeing Rory cut herself off mid-sentence, Vangar looked at her in confusion. "What is it?"
"Oh, this thing..."
Rory smiled calmly and explained, "This is a pet Yuel gave me."
"Yuel gave you this?"
Vangar’s brows furrowed even tighter, a look of sheer disbelief on his face. "Since when has Yuel’s taste been this bad? Why would he give you such an ugly little thing?"
While complaining, Vangar reached out, grabbed one of the soot sprite’s little wings, and hoisted him up.
He gave him a few shakes up and down.
This bird didn’t look like anything special. Why would Yuel give their little female master such an ugly creature?
Vangar’s movements were lightning-fast, leaving Rory no time to react.
Rory: "!!!"
Vincent: "..."
Having been shaken up and down several times, Vincent was so furious he wanted to curse. Was Vangar out of his mind?
Snapping out of it, Rory quickly snatched Vincent away before he could be shaken into a daze, clutching him tightly against her chest.
"Vangar, you can’t shake him like that."
Vangar was incredibly strong; if this had been an actual ordinary bird, those shakes would have probably killed him.
Looking a bit innocent, Vangar rubbed his nose and explained in a low voice, "I was just checking him out. I didn’t use much force."
Rory shot him a glare and asked, "What did you come find me for anyway?"
Vangar smiled and naturally slid onto the sofa right next to her.
"It’s nothing major."
As he spoke, he leaned in close to Rory, his warm breath practically brushing against her earlobe.
"I just saw you were alone in your room and thought I’d come keep you company."
Vangar leaned forward affectionately, pressing his forehead gently against hers.
"Rory, kiss me again, okay? Just like you did in my room last time. You didn’t kiss me at all yesterday."
Rory was practically being pinned against the sofa by him, and her arms wrapped around Vincent tightened automatically with the sudden movement.
Vincent, who was currently being squeezed so hard he could barely breathe: "..."
"Chirp, chirp!"
Vincent let out a protesting cry.
Was Vangar on drugs or something? Creeping in first thing in the morning just to beg for a kiss?
Hearing Vincent’s cry, Rory snapped back to her senses. She placed her hands against Vangar’s chest, pushing back slightly as she rushed to say, "Vangar, calm down for a second. We aren’t the only two people in here."
Vincent was literally right here.
She wouldn’t mind giving Vangar a quick kiss in front of Vincent, but Vangar clearly wanted a lot more than just a quick kiss.
Vangar stopped, looking at Rory in utter confusion.
"Aren’t we the only two in your room right now?" He hadn’t sensed anyone else’s presence.
Rory immediately held up the soot-sprite version of Vincent from her chest for him to see. "There’s also him."
Vincent timed it perfectly with a sharp "Chirp."
Vangar’s gaze shifted from Rory’s slightly flushed cheeks to the pitch-black, plump, ugly little thing. His brows instantly knitted together.
"It’s just an ugly bird, it doesn’t matter. It has no idea what we’re doing."
Beastmen didn’t care if a bird or a rabbit was nearby when they were kissing. It was just an unevolved, ordinary animal anyway—they could completely act like it didn’t exist.
"Who says he doesn’t understand?" Rory pushed Vangar away. "I think he understands perfectly fine."
Oh, he understands all too well.
Looking at the black bird Rory was shielding in her arms, Vangar felt a pang of jealousy. Their female master was treating this bird better than him.
"Then I’ll just throw it out," Vangar said.
It was one thing to be second to Vincent—after all, Vincent had been by her side much longer than he had. But was he seriously supposed to rank below an ugly little bird Yuel had just gifted her? Vangar refused to believe it.
He subtly pressed a few inches closer to Rory again.
"Rory, give it to me. I’ll just put it in the living room for now. I promise I won’t hurt it. You didn’t spend any time with me yesterday, so keep me company for a bit, okay? Just a little while..."
Vangar dropped his voice, looking at Rory with a pitiful, puppy-dog expression.
"I really miss you. You promised me yourself that whenever I wanted to kiss you, I could come find you."
If Rory hadn’t given him that promise, Vangar wouldn’t have dared to be this bold.
"You even said I could—"
"Stop talking!"
Rory quickly clapped her hand over Vangar’s mouth, not daring to let him finish that sentence.
She had indeed whispered quite a few things to him that day. But those were things meant to be said when it was just the two of them! She was currently holding Vincent right in her arms.
Rory was so deeply embarrassed that she wished the floor would swallow her whole.
"Why won’t you let me speak?" Vangar blinked, looking at Rory with a slightly hurt expression on his face. "Have you already grown tired of me?"
They hadn’t even officially mated yet. Was his little female master already losing interest in him?