The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 185: War of Words

The silver cutlery clanked on the bone china plates, mouthwatering scents of the dishes freshly cooked by the elite chef wafting in the air. Unlike the meat, which was so tender the knife glided through it as if it were butter, the tension hanging over the table was so intense you wouldn’t be able to cut it even if you were to swing an axe.

Lane slowly cut a piece of beef and placed it in his mouth. It felt like cardboard, dry and devoid of any flavor. Or maybe it was his mouth that was so dry? Either way, he forced himself to swallow, trying to push the lump blocking his throat down with the meat.

It didn’t work.

"You have been ignoring our calls lately." After a good few minutes of silence, Miles finally spoke.

Causing Lane to roll his eyes with the very first sentence. The way the man had put it, it almost seemed as if they had always been in touch, but recently Lane ghosted them or something!

"Well," he scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. "You’ve never used to call me before, so I assumed it was a mistake. Maybe your finger slipped, and you pressed the wrong button."

"We reached out multiple times."

"If a mistake can happen once, it can also happen twice! I didn’t want to disturb your peace, contacting you because of such a trivial thing," Lane insisted.

Of course, his excuse wasn’t believable in the slightest. There were not only missed calls from Miles, Catherine, and Gracie, but also countless messages Lane received. From the content of which it was easy to deduce they were meant for Lane.

As expected, Miles was unmoved. He just sat at the head of the table, eating his meal, cold and overbearing as always.

Lane was used to it, but it still made him feel uneasy. Especially with the situation he was in, trapped in the mansion. So, he added, with more seriousness, "Our deal didn’t require me to remain in contact with you."

"That might be true," Miles nodded his head in agreement," However, we wouldn’t be contacting you if you hadn’t breached the terms first."

"And how did I breach them?"

"Are you not even aware of your own actions?"

Yes, Lane knew what his father was referring to. But that was only because he had been there at the gala! Otherwise, he would likely be confused, suddenly interrogated when he hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, at least not as Lane Allen... Except for possessing other people, of course! Part of the deal was that he wouldn’t seek employment as an Esper, or get involved with the Awakened’s world in any way, shape, or form.

So, he still chose to play dumb for a moment longer, trying his best not to look guilty at all. "I am asking because I clearly have no idea what you are talking about."

"Is that so?" Miles lifted his brows slightly. "Then maybe mentioning Esper Damien Lennox would help you jog your memory?"

"...Damien Lennox?"

"Team Leader Damien Lennox, the S-rank Esper from the Awakened Association," Miles provided the absolutely unnecessary specification. "We have heard you approached him."

"Approached...?" Yes, Lane approached Damien, but not as Lane Allen! "If you’re referring to me meeting Team Leader Lennox, then yes, it happened. However, it was accidental and completely out of my control."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I simply happened to bump into him during my yearly visit to the Association," Lane explained. "Which, as you might be aware, if you have paid any attention to the Awakened regulations that have been in effect for several years now, I am obligated to do as a registered Esper inactive in the field, to receive routine guiding."

"...Yes, that is an oversight on our part. We should have prevented you from being registered after your rank assessment," Miles nodded in agreement. Or, well, was it still an ’agreement’, if he purposely missed the point? "However, the problem is not your encounter, but rather your introduction. Damien Lennox was aware that you are Nyla’s brother. How are you going to explain that?"

Lane’s eyes twitched. Damien had CLEARLY told Gracie that he knew Lane’s identity from the files. So why were they questioning him about something they already knew? Just so that they could push the blame onto him somehow, and punish him for it? Even though it was not his fault this time?

Still, he suppressed his anger, and forced an expression of utter puzzlement to appear on his face. "I have no idea, honestly! I haven’t even told him my name! He already knew it when he spoke to me the second time, after my guiding session. When he asked me about my relation to the Allen family, I naturally denied it, saying it was just a coincidence, same surname... I suppose he must have checked my files then. That’s something out of my control..." Lane sighed helplessly.

It was mostly the truth. When it came to the name, Lane actually did introduce himself, if he remembered correctly, but that was just a minor detail, the rest of the story was correct. Even if the Allens tried investigating the case, there was only one possible conclusion, that is, that Lane was innocent.

Miles remained silent for after that, just eating his meal as if it was any other Wednesday. Whether he was thinking about Lane’s words, or simply keeping him in suspense, it was unclear. In the end, it was Catherine, Lane’s mother, who interrupted the silence again.

"You were lucky this time," she spoke, her voice no less cold and harsh than Miles’. "Damien Lennox seems to be a serious, work-oriented person, disinterested in gossip. Thanks to that, there are no rumors about you circulating."

Of course he was! Lane almost nodded his head, the corners of his mouth lifting as he heard someone - even if that someone was his mother - speak well about his boyfriend. He quickly reflected on himself though, and tried to suppress his smile...

Well, there wasn’t much suppressing needed to be done, as his smile vanished on his own when he heard Catherine’s next words.

"Besides, he might become your brother-in-law in the future, so he would end up finding out about your existence sooner or later anyway."