The second condition Arvin had just spoken sounded incredibly ambiguous to Calverd's ears. He fell silent, his brows furrowing as he tried to digest every implied meaning of that sentence.
What exactly is the meaning of his words just now? Calverd thought, feeling anxious. Is he merely offering me a place to live, or is there a deeper meaning?
He wanted to ask directly to clarify everything, but a trace of hesitation held his tongue. On the other hand, if he chose to remain silent and not ask, he would only feel increasingly confused and lost in his own assumptions.
A rather long silence enveloped the space between them. And after a few seconds of carefully considering the step he should take, the indigo-haired youth finally swallowed his pride. He decided to convey what had been weighing on his mind all this time.
"Are you asking me to forget those bitter memories..." Calverd trailed off for a moment, drawing a slow breath before looking directly into the pair of blue eyes in front of him, "and asking me to be your spouse?"
Hearing the question thrown with such a cautious tone, Arvin was not surprised in the slightest. The blue-haired youth looked at him with an extremely calm expression.
"I already told you that I'm interested in you, right?" Arvin asked in return, his voice flowing casually yet full of certainty. "Why are you still asking something to which you actually already know the answer very clearly?"
Calverd instantly lowered his head, understanding perfectly well that Arvin did indeed have the intention of making him his spouse.
However, as his gaze fell to the floor, his eyes accidentally caught a sight that made his blood feel as if it had stopped flowing. Beneath their very close proximity, Calverd clearly saw a shaft standing erect at Arvin's groin.
Even though Arvin did not make any aggressive movements, that sight forcibly dragged Calverd's memory back to the darkest place in his life.
The dark image of himself being abused and brutally raped by those soldiers inside that underground prison cell suddenly exploded in his head. The pain and his own screams of despair echoed once again, suffocating his sanity.
Calverd's body instantly trembled violently. An unstoppable fear took control of his body until he shut his eyes tightly, as if trying to banish the horror gnawing at his soul.
Seeing the drastic change right in front of him, Arvin immediately realized what was happening. He completely understood the deep feeling of trauma currently overpowering Calverd, and he decided to immediately take a step back, not wanting to pressure him in the slightest.
"Just think about it carefully." Arvin said with a very gentle voice. "I want you to accept me purely based on your own desire and readiness, not because of coercion, a sense of gratitude, or fear."
To provide a sense of safety, Arvin reached out his right hand and touched Calverd's shoulder gently.
But alas, amidst the storm of trauma that was blinding his common sense, Arvin's touch was instead interpreted as a threat. The physical memory of the torture in the prison made Calverd's fear and self-defense anger peak out of control.
Whoosh! Bang!
Unconsciously, Calverd used his telekinesis magic and slammed Arvin's body until it hit the bathroom wall incredibly hard.
The extremely loud sound of the impact echoed deafeningly. The bathroom wall even cracked slightly from the sheer force generated.
The commotion instantly caused an uproar among all the youths inside the mansion.
Inside the same bathroom, Kaydan, who was soaking in the bathtub, witnessed the entire incident from beginning to end. However, gray-haired youth did absolutely nothing when he saw his husband being hurled so forcefully against the wall.
On the contrary, Kaydan stared at Calverd with a dimming gaze. He felt a deep sense of pity for his comrade. Through the soul bond that had been formed, the gray-haired youth could clearly feel what his husband's feeling, sympathy for the tragic fate his comrades had suffered during the escape.
The overwhelmingly strong feeling of sadness and empathy from the head of the household was also immediately felt by Kylen and Davin, who were far away in the dining room.
In the dining room, panic instantly broke out. When Allen and the others heard the incredibly loud crash coming from the direction of the bathroom, they all stood up from their chairs in unison. Their faces were clouded with anxiety, preparing to run to the bathroom to ensure Arvin's safety.
However, they had barely taken a few steps when Kylen and Davin immediately stretched out their arms and blocked the way, forcibly halting everyone's steps.
"Why are the two of you stopping us?!" Victor asked in annoyance, his face filled with peaking worry. "Our husband might be under attack in there!"
"Right now, our husband is feeling sad." Davin answered with a sharp gaze, holding back the surge of emotions in his chest. "This is for Calverd's own good, and also for our husband's. Please return to your respective seats immediately and don't disturb them in there!"
"He is right!" Kylen chimed in to affirm Davin's words, looking at his family with a pleading expression. "Our husband knows what he is doing. I beg you, sit down and entrust everything to him."
Seeing those eyes that were so sharp and full of conviction without the slightest hint of hesitation, Allen and the others fell silent. They realized that Kylen and Davin possessed an inner connection that they lacked.
Having no other choice, one by one, they finally turned their bodies and returned to sitting in their respective chairs with anxious hearts.
The two youths blocking the path could finally heave a sigh of relief when everyone complied and did not recklessly force their way into the bathroom to complicate the situation.
A tense silence once again enveloped the dining room. Until finally, Allen broke that silence with a proposal.
"It seems we must all also bind our souls to our husband through that ritual immediately!" said Allen, who was already sitting back in his chair, his eyes staring seriously at his family members. "It feels unfair if only Kylen, Davin, and Kaydan are the ones who can know his feelings in moments like this!"
"Yes, you're right, Allen!" Alrain agreed without the slightest hesitation. He clenched his fist with absolute determination. "Aside from being able to know his feelings, there's something far more important. While he lives in eternity, we will always be with him. And even when he dies, we will die alongside him without having to feel shattered by the loss after his death!"
"What do you mean, Alrain?" Dylan chimed in with a surprised and confused expression, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Do you want our husband to die sooner?"
"Of course not, you fool!" Alrain answered swiftly and firmly, glaring at Dylan who often misinterpreted the context. "I mean, with that bond, we will always be with him in both life and death, without a single person being left behind all alone in this world!"
Hearing Alrain's deeply profound explanation, what he had just said immediately earned the agreement of the others. All of their hearts had been tethered to the same man.
Without the slightest hesitation, they all agreed to permanently bind their souls to their husband immediately through the Soul Seal ritual.
"But..." Victor said, breaking the consensus with a hopeful tone. The youth intertwined his fingers, looking at his brothers with a pleading face. "...please allow me to be the first to bind my soul to him."
Victor took a deep breath, revealing his greatest fear. "Because I'm the only one among all of you who is currently not immortal and still ages like an ordinary human."
Hearing the reason that sounded so innocent yet harbored a very real worry from the eleventh, the tension in the dining room slowly melted away.
Everyone smiled understandingly and nodded in agreement, allowing Victor to seal his soul to Arvin first for the sake of eliminating his fear.