"Not good." A terrifying thought flashed through Garfield's mind.
Angela must be dead.
If that were true, Odin would absolutely hang him, an orange cat, at the highest point of Asgard for a full year as a warning to the realms.
After that, Garfield would have no choice but to flee to some forgotten corner of the universe, curl up for a hundred years, and wait patiently for Odin to die of old age.
"Actually, it's good news." Amenadiel continued calmly, "Angela already knows the truth."
"…She's not dead?" Garfield asked carefully.
Odin shot Garfield a strange look. Something about the cat's reaction strongly suggested that it had done something unspeakable behind his back.
Garfield immediately realized that if he failed to muddle through this moment, his future quality of life would plummet catastrophically.
In the spirit of dead friends don't burden the living, he decided to redirect the disaster elsewhere.
He turned sharply and glared at Amenadiel.
"Since Angela knows the truth," Garfield said harshly.
"You'd better explain clearly whether she's overcome with joy or so overwhelmed she's considering suicide."
"She's fine." Amenadiel replied honestly.
"Quite calm, actually. She seems to be thinking about how to handle her relationship with the Ten Realms and Asgard."
Hearing this, Odin's expression immediately changed.
Excitement surged through him as he grabbed Amenadiel by the arm.
"Take me to her. Now."
Amenadiel nodded. "Of course."
As the two departed in a hurry, Garfield remained behind, instantly transforming into a professional spectator.
He watched their backs disappear and scratched his chin.
"How does something this important not involve me at all?" He muttered. "That's unreasonable."
With a soft huhuhu, a portal opened.
Garfield emerged onto Frigga's balcony.
The Queen of Asgard was still there, standing quietly in the breeze, lost in thought.
The moment she sensed the portal opening, she turned and instinctively reached out pulling Garfield into her arms.
She lifted him up, holding him before her face.
"Simba." She declared solemnly. "You are destined to become the King of cats."
"..." Garfield endured it in silence.
"Garfield." Frigga continued warmly, "You did wonderfully today."
"I had already suggested taking Angela as my goddaughter. When the time was right, I planned to tell her the truth myself."
She was already imagining the touching reunion.
Garfield had no choice but to interrupt. "She already knows."
"…Ah?"
"Amenadiel just reported it. She's in good condition."
Frigga's eyes widened. For half a second, she panicked, then immediately grabbed Garfield.
"Quick. Take me to her."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Garfield raised a paw and opened another portal.
The two appeared directly at the entrance to Angela's room. Asgardian guards saluted as they passed.
Angela sat quietly on the balcony, gazing into the distance.
Frigga froze at the doorway.
For the first time in thousands of years, the Queen of Asgard was afraid. Afraid that a single wrong word might shatter this fragile moment.
"Go on. Just a few steps." Garfield leaned toward her and spoke softly.
"You can hug the daughter you lost for thousands of years."
Encouraged, Frigga slowly approached. Angela heard her footsteps and turned around.
Their eyes met.
Looking at Frigga so full of warmth, so similar to herself, Angela smiled, cautious but sincere.
"Queen."
"Ah~" Frigga instinctively replied, flustered,.
The tension broke awkwardly.
Garfield coughed. "Mother. Sister. This isn't how reunions are supposed to go."
Angela immediately glared at him, then pointed at herself indignantly.
"I'm older than you in height, weight, and age. On what basis should I acknowledge you as brother?"
Garfield's eyes lit up. If he didn't seize this moment, when would he ever get another chance?
"Ehehe~" He instantly switched tone, pulling candy from nowhere. "Hello, Sister. Here, have some sweets."
Angela nearly exploded.
"You shameless orange menace!" She stared at him in disbelief.
Then she turned smoothly, activating a skill every woman instinctively mastered.
"Mother." She said sweetly, "Your pet is bullying me."
Frigga smiled and gently stroked Angela's hair.
"Alright." She said calmly. "Garfield, let your sister have it her way."
"…" Garfield felt an ominous chill crawl up his spine. He had a very bad feeling about his future.
"Mother, I'm more than a thousand years old," Angela said firmly. "I'm much older than him."
Frigga merely smiled and gently patted Angela's head, saying nothing.
There were some truths that were… inconvenient to explain at the moment.
For example, the fact that Garfield's relationship with her eldest daughter, Hela, was extremely difficult to define.
If one person and one cat truly crossed that line in the future, Angela would not be arguing about seniority anymore, she would be calling him brother-in-law.
Angela did not know this.
Garfield did. He read it clearly in Frigga's eyes.
Those were not the eyes of a mother looking at a son. They were the eyes of a mother already treating him as a son-in-law.
The realization made his fur stand on end.
Angela, unaware of the reason, simply felt an inexplicable surge of irritation. S
he glared at Garfield like a child whose favorite toy had just been snatched away.
Garfield glared back.
This is absolutely not what I want, he thought darkly. No sane cat wants to marry that lunatic Hela.
And getting entangled with Odin's family is practically a guarantee of cosmic-scale disaster. Most of the major catastrophes on Earth can be traced back to that family.
A cat stared at a woman.
A woman stared at a cat.
Sparks crackled silently in the air.
At that precise moment, Odin and Amenadiel arrived. The instant Odin saw the standoff, alarm bells went off in his head.
Bastard cat.
I tolerated you flirting with my eldest daughter.
Now you're even daring to paw at my youngest?
Unacceptable.
Odin strode forward at once, positioning himself squarely between Garfield and Angela, physically cutting off whatever dangerous nonsense might follow.
There was no way he was allowing this orange menace to develop any kind of unclear relationship with his youngest daughter.
Garfield, of course, had no idea what Odin was thinking. If he did, he would have happily delivered the good news.
Your daughter is a Yuri. Please relax.
No wild boar was coming for Odin's cabbage. If anything, the cabbage itself was built like a wild boar.
Odin's expression softened as he turned to Angela. His eyes grew warm, almost moist.
For countless years, he had dreamed of this moment.
In his dreams, Angela was always a blurred figure, distant and unreachable.
He had often wondered whether exiling the Ten Realms had also condemned his daughter to death.
Whether his punishment had been too cruel. Whether, had she lived, he would have been guilty of neglect beyond redemption.
"Angela." He said quietly, "My daughter."
Angela nodded. "Father."
That single word struck Odin harder than any battlefield wound.
He reached out and gently patted her head, restraining the tide of emotion threatening to break through.
"You should talk with your mother." He said. "I'll make arrangements. We'll hold a proper celebration tonight."
With that, Odin turned and left.
Frigga watched him go and understood him perfectly. Her husband was overwhelmed.
As the God King, he had worn the mask of majesty for too many years… maintaining distance, authority, and deterrence.
If he truly felt nothing, he would not be personally preparing a welcome banquet.
She turned back to Angela and smiled reassuringly.
"Your father is very happy." Frigga said softly. "He's simply not good at showing it anymore."
Angela's disappointment slowly eased under her mother's gentle voice.
Before long, the two began speaking quietly, their conversation tentative but warm.
Nearby, Garfield and Amenadiel exchanged a look and silently retreated.
One man and one cat squatted at the end of the corridor.
They stared at each other.
Both felt that their future had become… profoundly complicated.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream