Chapter 165: The Act And The Revelation!
Neve furrowed his brows as he watched Maren enter the hut.
He surely was not expecting Maren to show up right now. Not after they had just met by the water. Not after they had just discovered they were both reincarnators with their own systems and missions.
He blinked, taking his eyes off Maren as he cleared his throat nervously. He wanted to say nothing was wrong with Maren’s mother, but he had just told Zyreth that she was almost in a critical condition. He rubbed his palms together, trying to figure out what to say.
"Um, so..." Neve stuttered, but before he could finish speaking, Maren immediately stepped forward and wrapped his hand around Neve’s neck.
The grip was firm but not actually choking. It looked threatening to everyone watching, but Neve could still breathe.
"Maren!" Zyreth screamed his name, his body going rigid with shock and anger. His eyes darkened dangerously.
Maren turned and glared at Zyreth over his shoulder, his expression cold and murderous.
"What is it? Are you concerned about this prisoner?" Maren yelled, his voice carrying contempt. "Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for him. How pathetic. He’s just a tool. Just someone to use for your goals."
Zyreth gritted his teeth angrily. He wanted to argue. He wanted to defend himself. But he could not speak. The words would not come.
Maren turned back to Neve and leaned forward, appearing to threaten him. His voice became loud and aggressive for the audience.
"If a single strand of hair breaks from my mother’s head," Maren yelled, making it sound like a terrible threat. "I’ll make sure I kill you and..."
But then he leaned even lower to whisper privately to Neve so only the red panda could hear.
"Did I hurt you?" Maren whispered, his voice gentle and concerned.
"No. You act pretty well," Neve whispered back, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. They were performing for Zyreth while also having a private conversation.
Maren pulled his head back, returning to his public threatening persona.
"Hmph!" he grunted loudly. He continued his threat, projecting his voice for maximum effect. "I’ll make sure I kill you and our deal will be off. Zyreth, if this brat harms my mother in any way, our entire agreement is void."
He gently pushed his hand off Neve’s neck and stepped back, creating distance between them.
Neve immediately realized he had to maintain the performance. He started coughing as he touched his neck where Maren’s hand had been. Fake tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He made it look like Maren had actually hurt him.
Maren grinned slightly, a look that was meant to convey satisfaction at Neve’s pain. But his eyes held a completely different message for Neve. His eyes were saying: good work, you’re doing great.
Maren turned to Zyreth, his expression returning to cold authority.
"I’ll start checking on my mother now," Maren said coldly. "I’ll be watching this brat’s treatment method carefully. If he tries to tamper with my mother’s health in any way, if he tries to poison her or harm her, you know what I can do. I can destroy your entire plan."
He glared at Neve over his shoulder with calculated contempt, and Neve flinched in fake fear.
Neve’s eyes went above Maren’s head where the favorability meter was displayed.
The negative number had changed.
{Maren: 0%}
At least it was no longer negative. It was back to zero. That was progress. Their conversation nad worked well, but now they needed to build the favorability up through legitimate interactions and relationship development.
Neve watched Maren storm out of the hut, his acting perfect.
A small smirk crept up Zyreth’s face as he observed the interaction.
"I almost thought that bastard had fallen for you for a second," Zyreth said, clearly relieved. "Seeing how rough he treated you even in your condition, I guess I was wrong. He clearly despises you."
He turned to Jereth, his expression becoming commanding.
"You don’t have to follow them anymore," Zyreth ordered. "Your services as a watcher are no longer needed. I can see that Neve has no interest in running or betraying me."
Jereth hesitated, clearly unsure about the order.
"But my king, I suspect that..." Jereth started to speak, his instincts telling him something was not quite right about the situation.
"What?" Zyreth interrupted him sharply.
Jereth’s eyes moved to Popi and he saw her smirking slightly. He frowned and looked away, deciding not to voice his suspicions.
"It’s nothing, my king," Jereth said obediently. "I apologize for doubting your judgment."
Zyreth leaned forward to Neve, his possessiveness returning. He wrapped his arms around Neve and stared at the hand that had been around Neve’s neck. He could see red marks on the skin. His eyes also dropped to the cut that his scale had caused on Neve’s arm.
"We don’t have any physician around to check your wound," Zyreth said, concern mixing with jealousy in his voice.
"Don’t worry, I can handle it," Neve said, adding a tremble to his voice to make it sound like he was scared and hurt.
Zyreth ruffled Neve’s hair affectionately, then turned to look at Maren’s mother still lying on the bed.
"How long till she opens her eyes?" Zyreth asked. "How long until your treatment is complete?"
"Uh, soon," Neve said vaguely. "A few more days maybe. The poison is still deep in her system. I have to be careful not to damage her organs while removing it."
"I hope it’ll be sooner," Zyreth said, his impatience clear. "I can’t wait to get my revenge on everyone who has wronged me. Once Maren agrees to help, we’ll be unstoppable."
He smirked, clearly fantasizing about his revenge plan.
Neve just faked a smile and watched Zyreth leave as his hand left Neve’s hair. The snake king’s presence was suffocating but at least he was leaving.
Jereth also left the hut, following Zyreth out into the outcast territory.
As soon as the place was quiet and empty, Neve and Popi heaved a breath of relief. The tension drained from their bodies as they realized they had successfully pulled off the deception.
Jereth was no longer stalking Neve constantly in the name of security. They had been freed from constant surveillance.
They sat on the hut floor, still trying to process everything that had happened. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving them exhausted.
Then Popi broke the silence.
"I guess you failed to speak to Maren seeing how he wrapped his fingers around your neck and almost choked you to death," Popi said, her tone suggesting that the plan had not worked out as expected.
Neve smirked confidently.
"Don’t worry. I’ve handled Maren completely. We just have to meet again soon for us to talk about the actual plan. The escape plan. Everything else we need to discuss."
Popi’s eyes beamed with hope.
"Thank goodness I didn’t hit Jereth for nothing," she said with satisfaction.
Neve’s eyes widened.
"Jereth?" Neve asked. He remembered how hard Jereth had been glaring at Popi earlier. "What did you do, Popi? What happened?"
Popi shrugged casually.
"So, I stalked him after you left and used my telekinesis ability to throw stones at him, just to, you know, slow him down and distract him from following you," she explained. "I kept throwing things to keep him occupied."
Neve shook his head in disbelief.
"He didn’t find out about your ability, did he?" Neve asked, worried about the implications.
"Well, I’m not entirely sure," Popi said, and she did not look particularly worried about it. "He suspects something was off but he wasn’t sure what. Maybe he’ll think it was just coincidence. As long as we’re safe, I’m also fine with it."
Neve nodded, understanding her priorities.
"We have four days left before Cael and the others might find us," Neve said, thinking about the timeline. "Before then, I have to talk to Maren to help me escape. Because there’s absolutely no way Zyreth would let me leave here willingly. He’s too possessive. Too controlling."
Popi nodded in agreement.
"I doubt Varek would also let me leave," Popi said quietly.
Neve’s eyes widened in shock.
"What? Are you and Varek a thing now?" Neve asked, stunned by the revelation.
Heat crept up Popi’s cheeks and she folded her hands defensively.
"Well, it’s not like we’re officially together or anything," Popi said, clearly embarrassed. "It’s just that, he’s really sweet when you actually talk to him. He listens. He actually cares about what I think. And when I refused his physical advances, he respected that. He stopped immediately."
She looked up at Neve with a shy expression.
"He’s not what everyone says he is. The pervert persona is just how he deals with rejection and emptiness. Underneath all that, he’s actually kind of lonely."
Neve’s jaw dropped. Varek? Sweet? Kind? He did not see Varek like that at all. But Popi clearly did.
"So, what do we do about them?" Popi asked, her voice carrying the weight of the impossible situation they were in.