Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world-Chapter 382: A gut feeling

Staring back at him through the mirror was a middle-aged man with black hair in disarray and dark green eyes. Unlike Alex, he was a little rough around the edges, with a small unkempt beard, but even then, one could tell at a glance that he possessed a rugged kind of handsomeness.

This appearance wasn’t always the one he had; it was simply the one he bore at the time of his death, and as he stared at it, an inexplicable flood of emotions burst through him.

"I wonder what happened after my death," he mumbled under his breath.

After the war hero of his country disappeared just like that, there was bound to be a direct hit to every soldier’s morale, and their enemies would surely act during the confusion to strike a heavy blow.

It wasn’t what he was truly wondering about, though. What occupied his thoughts more than anything else was what had happened to that fucker, Paul, the one who had betrayed and killed him.

’Most likely nothing, since it was the bastards up there who had ordered him to kill me. He probably gained merits and got promoted as a reward,’ he thought.

Anger began to bubble up inside him, but before it had time to take over, he shook his head.

He had to remind himself that there was nothing he could do about the situation on Earth, he was no longer there and this was also the reason why when he awakened after the soul of the previous Alex and Jack fused, he had promised himself to just live his life as Alex, which was the reason why he mostly acted like the previous Alex, though that wasn’t in every aspect because no matter what he thought, there were two halves that made him, and he couldn’t just disregard one side and live his life like the other wanted.

"I can’t do anything against the traitor on Earth, but I can certainly do something about the one in Wadata," he thought, his expression turning colder than ice.

After a while, he resumed his test with the mask to observe all of its capacities, and when he was satisfied, he continued his training with Marnak like he had been doing since yesterday.

***

’I feel like today is going to be a shitty day,’ this was the first thought that came to Alex’s mind as he opened his eyes. There was no reason for him to think so, he was currently surrounded with peace and had one of the most beautiful women the world had ever seen nestled against him, the day couldn’t have been any better.

Yet...

’I hope I am just being paranoid,’ he thought as he went to close his eyes, but before he could, he felt someone shift beside him and when he looked to the side, he could see two beautiful orange eyes staring back at him.

"Good morning," Freya greeted with a smile.

Just like the night before, late at night yesterday she had visited him and they then spent the whole night fooling around.

"Good morning," Alex greeted back, throwing away his idea to return back to sleep. "You had a good night yesterday?"

"Last night was wonderful!" Freya exclaimed with a bright and cheerful smile. "If only we could stay here the whole day," she added with a sigh.

"We can," replied Alex. "We are doing nothing but watch the auction all day anyway."

"Still, I need to be present in case something happens and they need me," Freya explained. "Besides that, I think Maya is getting suspicious about us, and if we disappear for the whole day, she could connect the dots. She is a very smart kid, you know."

Alex nodded. Maya was indeed a smart kid, but then, why would he care if she knew about his relationship with her mother?

"I say let her find out. We can’t, nor do I want to, keep hiding, so sooner or later she will know," he shrugged.

"I would rather tell her about it rather than let her discover it herself," Freya added with a thoughtful look.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged once again. "Just be sure to notify me when you plan to do so, I don’t want to miss this for anything," he said, already imagining the kind of expression Maya would make when she heard that he would be her new "daddy".

Freya nodded and then sat upright, the covers sliding off to reveal her too stunningly curvaceous body. "I need to leave soon, so I will go ahead and take a bath," she informed, standing up.

The words had barely left her mouth when she felt her body being effortlessly lifted off the ground... and in the next instant, she was cradled in Alex’s arms. "Perfect timing. I was planning to take a bath too," he said with a mischievous grin, already heading toward the bathroom with confident strides that left no room for protest. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Before Freya could even think of voicing a complaint—not that she had one to begin with—they were already inside, and Alex was "giving her a hand with bathing."

***

"How come every time I see you two, you’re always together?" Maya asked, eyeing her mother and master with a hint of suspicion.

"We just enjoy each other’s company," Alex replied with a casual shrug.

Maya’s eyes narrowed at the response, and she opened her mouth to say something when—

"We should get going. The auction is about to start," Freya interjected quickly, cutting the conversation short before it could escalate.

As they were led toward the auction house, their conversation turned more casual again. At some point, Alex voiced a concern that had been on his mind since morning. "Isn’t it strange that there’s been no attack today?"

Freya paused, giving it some thought before nodding. "It is suspicious."

"Maybe the one controlling the beasts is waiting for something," Maya added, frowning slightly.

"That’s what worries me," Alex said, voice serious. "What exactly are they waiting for? And why attack in the first place?"

"To answer that, we’d need to catch whoever is behind this. But don’t worry too much for now. After the past two days of attacks, the security has been reinforced more than ever. I’ve also sent orders for additional troops, but it’ll take time for them to get here. Let’s just hope nothing serious happens before then," Freya added.

"Mom! You just jinxed us," Maya exclaimed, shooting her a look.

"I’m with the kid on this one," Alex said with a chuckle. "Now something is bound to happen."

"Sorry, I guess," Freya said with a light giggle—a sound that made Maya squint in suspicion again, though she chose not to comment this time.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the auction house. As usual, Alex and Freya split off from Maya and headed toward their private booth. Unlike the previous days, however, Alex’s mood slightly soured as they crossed paths with Earl Drickon and his entourage.

To his surprise, nothing dramatic happened. The Earl offered a brief greeting to Freya, shot Alex a passing scowl, and continued on his way without attempting to start anything.

Alex found the encounter strange—particularly the fact that neither the Earl nor his men made any move toward him. In the end, though, he just shrugged it off. As far as he was concerned, the only person worth watching in that group was the Earl’s old bodyguard, Kradwell. The rest didn’t pose any real threat in his eyes.

On their way, they stumbled upon Daisy, her sister Althea, Baron Vesper and his son, who greeted them.

’Those two families seem to be attached at the hip,’ Alex thought as he observed the four of them.

When they met, Daisy looked like she wanted to say something to him, but in the end, she chose to stay silent.

After that, Alex and Freya continued on their way and before long, they were inside their private booth, hugging, kissing, and playing with each other.

Around half an hour later, the curtains opened and the one in charge of leading the auction appeared. But unlike the previous days, it wasn’t Frieda—this time, it was Maya.

"What is going on?" Alex raised a brow. "Was Maya scheduled to lead the auction today?" he wondered.

"No, that wasn’t planned," Freya replied, a slight frown on her stunning face.

It didn’t take long for the matriarch to pull out a communication talisman and contact someone. Alex didn’t know who it was, but after she pulled the talisman away, Freya assured him that everything was under control.

As she had said, everything went smoothly—better than expected, even. The guests attending the auction seemed to appreciate the young heiress, and everything continued without a hitch until the very end. Only one item remained to be auctioned, and the daytime auction would soon come to an end.

’I guess that strange feeling from this morning was nothing after all. Which is good, because I’m having a great time today,’ Alex thought.

Unfortunately, as Maya pulled away the piece of cloth covering the final treasure of the day, that thought vanished instantly.

’What in the actual hell...’