CH23 The Right Thing To Do
***
"It seems like Lady Zora is unaware of what you're doing, Master," Alex said calmly.
"Yes, so what of it?" Merlin replied without hesitation.
Alex bowed his head slightly. "In that case, I will respectfully decline."
"What?! You dare?!" Merlin's aura flared violently.
The pressure shattered the isolation barrier in an instant.
Alex dropped to his knees under the weight of the magical force, struggling to breathe as if invisible hands crushed his chest.
"Father!" Zora cried out.
She rushed in, placing herself between them.
"Father, what are you doing?"
Her voice snapped Merlin out of his fury. With a grunt, he pulled back his aura and stormed off through a swirling portal.
"Hmph."
Zora quickly turned to Alex, kneeling beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Alex replied with a wry smile.
"What happened?"
"Nothing much." He shook his head and rose to his feet, dusting himself off.
"I'll be on my way, Lady Zora."
"Wait…"
She reached out to stop him, but Alex was already retreating.
Zora stood in the Tower Master's office, frowning.
Without a word, she summoned a portal using her authority and stepped through.
—
Alex returned to his dorm and collapsed on his bed.
'Sigh… What was I thinking, turning down Merlin's offer? Argh, it was such a good offer.' He tossed restlessly.
'I guess I've lost Merlin's favour. Would I be kicked out of the Enclave now?'
'No, right? I already have a deal with them—even if unofficial. Merlin wouldn't be so petty… would he? At most, he'd cut off my grant and act like I never existed.'
He conjured a cascade of worst-case scenarios in his head.
The more he thought about it, the more his decision seemed rash. He didn't regret it—but he did realise he should have paused and spoken to Lady Zora before deciding.
Instead, he'd blown everything out of proportion.
'I wonder if Merlin would accept an apology…' He sighed again. 'As if that would fix anything.'
Sprawled out on the bed like a star fish, Alex stared at the ceiling.
'Marriage, huh… That's something I never wanted to think about in my last life.'
While Alex had been rich and handsome, romance had never worked out for him.
He recalled his girlfriend of five years, who broke up with him the same day he proposed.
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life with a man already married to his work. I could understand if you were a workaholic to climb higher, but you're not. You lack ambition. You do this just because you love it.
"Your friends are moving up. You're still in the same place.
"I love you, but you're never around enough for me to commit to a life with you."
She was with another man the following week.
Someone Alex had once called a close friend.
He didn't blame her. The man became CEO of a successful start-up before Alex's reincarnation.
After that, every romantic relationship Alex had fell apart—fine at first, until suddenly it wasn't.
Eventually, he stopped trying altogether.
By his mid-thirties, he had no one.
"Well, on the plus side," Alex muttered, "there's no one back on Earth I'm leaving behind."
Part of the reason Alex had so easily accepted his reincarnated situation was because there was nothing significant waiting for him back on Earth. Whether he lived on Earth or on Pangea made very little difference to him.
It wasn't just indifference—it was deliberate. He rarely thought about his past life beyond recalling useful knowledge. Emotional memories, experiences, and regrets were things he avoided.
If not for Merlin's sudden marriage proposal, perhaps he would've never thought about it at all.
'The past is best left in the past.' he muttered.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder—would he ever marry in this world? Could he find someone who'd be more than a bed partner? A companion? A true partner?
It felt like wishful thinking. In the short time he'd been in Pangea, he was already more of a workaholic than he'd ever been back on Earth.
'No point thinking about it.' He sighed. 'I'll do what I've always done—take life as it comes. Carpe diem.'
With that, Alex jumped off the bed and got to his feet.
He headed toward his Rune-Tech lab to get back to work. Moping wouldn't help. Productivity would.
Ding~
He was just about to enter the lab when the dorm's bell chimed.
"Lady Zora?" Alex blinked in surprise as he opened the door.
"Are you going to let me in or not?" she said, her tone frosty.
Alex instinctively stepped aside.
Zora entered like she owned the place, walked to the table in the dorm's living room, and took a seat with the casual authority of someone familiar with the space. Arms and legs crossed, she stared coldly at him.
Alex sat down awkwardly across from her.
"I heard from Father that you refused to marry me," she said, her voice dangerously level.
Her words sent an icy chill down Alex's spine.
"That's not what I said!" he burst out. "When Master offered me your hand, I realised he hadn't consulted you. I didn't want to take advantage of the situation or put you in a corner. It's unfair to be betrothed to someone without your consent. And if you already like someone—or are in a relationship—it would be even worse! I-I mean, it would be an honour to be engaged to you, truly, but not if it makes you unhappy—"
He stopped, his face flushed crimson.
The old soul within him groaned in embarrassment. 'I can't believe I just said all that out loud.'
"Haha…"
Laughter rang out.
Zora was laughing.
"I was only teasing… I didn't think… You would say all that…" she said, barely able to speak between laughs.
Alex blinked, finally realising what had just happened. Zora hadn't been angry—she'd been toying with him to see his reaction.
The True_Sage within him wanted to dig a hole and crawl in. A supposed old soul, completely flustered by a 'younger' woman's prank.
Much to his dismay, it took a long while before Zora's laughter subsided. Time stretched into eternity for Alex as he sat, mortified.
Finally, Zora caught her breath and looked at him sincerely.
"I actually came to apologise for Father's behaviour. And… to thank you."
"There's no need for that," Alex said quickly, waving his hands.
"There is." Zora leaned forward slightly. "Father is… well, tactless most of the time. He's used to saying whatever he wants and always getting his way. He rarely considers how it puts others on the spot. I'm sure you were blindsided. I'm sorry for that.
"And I know turning down his offer to become his True Disciple wasn't easy. But you did it for my sake. So, thank you—for that too."
"It was… just the right thing to do," Alex replied softly.
"Right thing to do, huh..." Zora muttered before smiling. "I'm not sure many people—especially nobles—would see it that way. Most would jump at the opportunity to form ties with my father."
She added teasingly, "And plenty would love to have a beautiful woman like me as their wife."
"Well, getting what you want through underhanded means shows a lack of confidence in your capabilities. I prefer to achieve things above-board—through my own actions and efforts. So, what I did was right to me, and that's all that matters," Alex replied solemnly.
Zora's eyes briefly flickered with surprise.
Then she smiled.
"That's pretty confident of you," she said. "Father told me you said you loved me. Can I assume you're confident you can pursue me?"
Alex was caught off guard by the question.
He glanced at her and noticed the amused glint in her eyes. She was teasing him.
The old soul in him refused to let that slide.
"Yes, I am," he nodded. "Without anyone's help, I'll make you fall in love with me and marry me of your own volition."
Now it was Zora's turn to be stunned.
Then she laughed.
It wasn't mocking or dismissive. It was simply the sound of pure amusement.
"Alright then, give it a try. It'll be fun for me either way," Zora said, grinning.
She rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her palm.
"As thanks for earlier, I'll give you two hints.
"First, I don't have anyone I like. In fact, I've never loved anyone—platonically or romantically—other than Father.
"Second, if you're going to pursue me, you'll have to grow up first. Until you're an adult, I'll only ever see you as a child. Like a little brother."
She reached out and tussled his hair to emphasise her point.
Alex didn't protest. Instead, he carefully considered her words.
'That means she at least likes me enough to see me as a younger brother. Other than Master Merlin, I'm someone she considers family. That's a start I can work with.'
Zora stopped playing with his hair and leaned back.
"Do you still want to be Father's True Disciple?" she asked.
"The offer's still on the table? I thought Master was angry."
"More embarrassed than angry," Zora replied. "And yes, the offer still stands. In fact... Father had an ulterior motive when he made that offer."
"Ulterior motive?" Alex frowned.
Zora nodded. "We... I need your help."
"Huh?"
"I can't tell you much unless you accept the position. It involves secrets about me and Father. All I can say is that I have a condition—and Father believes your Rune-Tech might be able to help solve it. The proof of concept you showed convinced him even more."
Realisation dawned on Alex.
"I see... So the marriage proposal was to get me emotionally invested in helping?"
"Yes and no. You're not far off, though."
"If that's the case, there's nothing to think about. If I can help, then of course I will. With or without the True Disciple offer."
Zora smiled teasingly. "Trying to make me fall for you with that?"
"This and that are different," Alex replied seriously. "I won't play around with something that concerns your life."
Zora paused for a moment. She chose to conveniently ignore his response.
Instead, she said, "You don't need to worry. Whether or not you solve my bloodline problem, Father still intends to make you his True Disciple... if you want."
"I want it," Alex said without hesitation.
"Then let's go."
A portal opened in the room, and Zora stepped through, motioning for him to follow.
Alex emerged into a dark cave. Dim illumination revealed Merlin seated on a rock.
The old man's expression didn't bode well.
***