"Ma, Ba." Sherry called out, not expecting them to have been standing there. They opened and closed their mouths with hesitation.
"(Can we talk?)" An asked cautiously. Sherry nodded and the family moved to the living room.
"(We're sorry for what we had done.)" Ping apologised. "(We were inconsiderate and disregarded your feelings. It was horrible of us to have done so and no matter what thoughts were going through our heads at the time, we hurt your feelings and were wrong.)"
"(We shouldn't have reprimanded you like that. Next time, we will sit down to talk to you and discuss our thoughts on things calmly.)" An added.
Sherry didn't know what to say. She felt foolish for having stubbornly holed up in her room for half the day and not talking to her parents earlier. "(I'm also sorry. I lashed out at you and didn't even let you talk before storming off. I was too angry and worked up and didn't want to listen.)"
There was an awkward silence.
"(We were all in the wrong.)" An said, breaking the silence.
"(I'm sorry for hiding the truth about Dylan from you. I was afraid that you would reject him and honestly just wanted to keep it to ourselves. Sorry.)"
"(I understand that sentiment. When your father was dating me, I also hid my relationship with him from my family. They weren't satisfied with him so I was afraid of rejection and a falling out with them. However, your father met up with your grandpa and he asked for my hand in marriage. Your grandpa was obviously angry, but he eventually softened up and accepted us.)" An chuckled, hoping to lighten up the mood with an anecdote.
Ping intimately held An's hand and kissed the back of it. He grinned and looked at her lovingly. "(Anything for you.)"
An giggled and looked at Sherry. "(I just want you to talk to us when you're ready. When the incident with that boy in high school occurred, I just felt so under prepared and at a lost for what to do so I started to become more controlling and desired to know about what was going on around you. I realise that we've gone too far and would try our best to wait for you to just tell us when you want to.)"
Sherry smiled. "(Un, I will. When the time is right, I'll tell you everything.)"
Honestly, Sherry was tempted to spill everything out about Diva and all that nonsense but she held back. She didn't know how her parents would react and didn't want them to worry about something that's already passed. Especially since Diva was filled with so much danger.
Meanwhile, Dylan was lazing about in Janine's house as usual. It was the last day of Sherry's house confinement and Fir had gone to meet her. He was bored with nothing to do except hang out with Janine and Charlotte. He even started to read the Spanish books that Sherry bought him last time.
"Since you're so bored, why don't you work with us?" Janine suddenly suggested.
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Charlotte chimed. "Sales would be amazing and you won't have to keep freeloading."
The words pierced Dylan's heart like a blade. He was self-conscious about that. Dylan let out a dry laugh. "Is it the same work as last time?"
"Yeah, I promise to pay you good." Janine replied.
Dylan thought for a bit. Honestly, he found modelling kinda fun and enjoyed it. It also wasn't tiring, quite suitable for his retirement life. He nodded amiably. "Sure, I don't mind."
"Great! All you have to do is sign a contract and we're all good. You'll only be modelling for us, but in case another company offers to do a collaboration, you might be working with others."
"Okay, seems fun."
"Ah, then can you try on some clothes now? I made some recently but didn't know how I should give them to you." Charlotte happily said. She rushed to her room to get the clothes and very quickly returned. She spread the clothes out before him. They consisted of a shirt, jacket and pants. The shirt was collared, black and elegant. The jacket and pants a navy blue decorated with a glossy silver.
Dylan held the clothes in his hands, feeling the material. It was smooth to the touch despite the stiff look. "I have something similar to this." He smiled and commented, feeling nostalgic.
"What? Really?" Charlotte asked. "But this is like a military uniform." She said, holding the clothes up against Dylan.
"Mm, I worked with the military." Dylan answered honestly.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes and her naughty paws made its way towards Dylan's stomach. He saw it coming but didn't see any need to avoid it. Charlotte pressed her hand against Dylan's abs and felt the hard surface. With a serious face, she nodded. "Un, I believe you now."
Dylan let out a dry laugh. "Would you like me to show you?"
Charlotte tilted her head, confused. She looked down at her hand that was still touching Dylan's abs and looked back at Dylan.
Dylan coughed. "I meant the clothes." He has gone shirtless before, at least not in front of others. Only Sherry has seen him without a shirt, and that was only an accident.
Charlotte's eyes sparkled. She excitedly looked up at him and impatiently spoke. "Really? Where is it? Show me, show me!"
She's gotten inspiration for the set of clothes that she has given to Dylan from the internet and the aura around Dylan. He carried himself with discipline and also had a chivalrous air to him. Charlotte had thought that they would suit Dylan a lot as a result and worked late nights to design and make the thing. However, she hadn't managed to get her paws on a real thing, relying only on photos from the internet to work with. Thus, Charlotte was not very satisfied with her work, though it was still very good. She just felt that it could be much better.
"I'll go get it." Dylan smiled and casually pat Charlotte's head. She had been a bit too enthusiastic and was leaning her head in a little too close for his liking. Dylan gently and gracefully pushed her head away under the guise of a little pat.
Dylan went into his room and sneakily retrieved his uniform from his storage. It was the knight's uniform worn for formal occasions that he had previously worn at Sherry's place before they had gone on a shopping spree. Charlotte held it like it was a precious artefact and studied it with great interest.
"Is that your uniform? Doesn't seem very useful in battles." Janine quietly whispered to Dylan.
"Well, I only wore it to audiences with his majesty. I have proper armour for when the occasion arises but that uniform is also enchanted with magic. It has physical magical barriers and also comes with various spells. The average adventurer would treasure it with their life." Dylan laughed and bragged.
"So, you lived in a feudal society? Were there really things like scandals with illegitimate children and polygamous relationships told in stories?" The weeb Janine asked with interest.
"Well, polygamy is illegal where I'm from so there's that. And well, for the illegitimate children, they do exist but they are usually hidden away. Rumours were really the only way one would hear of them but if you were one, you were looked down upon and mocked for it." Dylan told her. "I myself was one of the rarer cases where an illegitimate child was acknowledged as a child of the house. It was a rather strange experience."
Author: Okay, I finally brought you out. You happy?
Dylan: I did get exploited a little and my family history got exposed, but it was fine.
Author: You don't sound very satisfied.
Dylan: I feel like my presence as the protagonist is getting thin.
Author: Uh...It's fine! We're getting into your side story so it might come back.
Dylan: -_-