The apocalypse Earth was currently experiencing was nothing more than a necessary part of civilizational evolution. Fortunately, Earth was still just a low-level civilization. If it had been an advanced one, even a Space Stabilizer would have been useless.

Advanced civilizations required a unique spatial being linked to them to stabilize their spacetime. To this day, fewer than five high-end Star Nations possessed such a being; they were a treasure one could only stumble upon by chance, not seek out.

He had selfishly kept the existence of the Space Stabilizer from Flora Bloom. Her power was still too low. Knowing too much would only cause her needless worry and might even put her in danger.

After Flora Bloom fell asleep, Lex Cross rose, his face pale. He shut the window tight before stepping out of the room.

His figure melted into the darkness and quickly vanished. ’Four months, and I’m only just finding out the child is mine. But it doesn’t matter. No matter what, I will make sure my child is born safely and has a happy childhood.’

「In a villa in the community next to Flora Bloom’s.」

"Boss, you’re back?" Five was the first to greet Lex Cross when he returned.

Lex Cross glanced at Five, his face devoid of expression, but the look in his eyes was enough to make Five shudder.

"Boss, the way... the way you’re looking at me is kind of scaring me."

"Five, Flora Bloom will be the matriarch of the Cross family. Do you understand?"

Lex Cross had never treated Five and the others like mere subordinates. Since arriving on Earth, they had all relied on each other to get by.

But they were born to protect the Cross family, and they would never defy an order from its heir.

Five’s heart sank. Outside of the battlefield, this was the first time Lex Cross had ever used such a commanding tone with him.

He dropped to one knee, bowing his head in silence. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"I’ve never interfered with how you interact with Flora Bloom because I trusted that the person I chose is someone you would eventually come to trust as well."

"Boss, that Flora Bloom... she’s been unfaithful to you! A woman like her... when we return to the Cross family, the Family Head will never acknowledge her! The family will never allow a woman carrying another man’s child through its doors! I just don’t get it! Why did you choose her?"

Lex Cross pulled Five up with one hand, a smirk playing on his lips. "She and I have entered into an Eternal Life Contract."

Five’s eyes widened, and he froze in shock.

"Boss, you! Have you lost your mind?! How could you deplete your own life essence to form a contract like that with Flora Bloom? What kind of potion did she give you to make you do this for her? She... she could be a spy planted here by an enemy power, sent to seduce you! You can’t..."

"..." Lex Cross stared at him, utterly speechless. "You’ve been with me since you were a kid. How is your brain still so... hopeless?"

Five froze. He pointed at Lex Cross, then vaguely toward the door. His expression shifted from dismayed to conflicted, from conflicted to shocked, and from shocked to pure astonishment, until finally, he began to stutter with unrestrained joy.

"Her, her, her... and you... Boss, you two?"

Lex Cross nodded and started to head back to his room, done with the conversation.

"The Eternal Life Contract? Boss, you really entered into an Eternal Life Contract? Then... then... then the baby is yours?"

"What do you think?" Lex Cross gave Five an exasperated look. "I wasn’t planning on telling you, but since your prejudice against Flora Bloom stems partly from Chelsea Todd, I’m worried things will get messy down the line. You’ve been with me since you were a kid. I don’t want to see you get hurt over this."

Five still hadn’t processed everything. "The Eternal Life Contract can only be successfully formed with a partner through an unborn, blood-related child. If it’s not your own flesh and blood, the contract fails! So that means... the baby in Flora Bloom’s belly is yours, Boss!"

"Mm."

"Then... then why didn’t she explain?"

"She’s not the type to explain herself. If Cynthia Grant hadn’t let it slip today, I’d still be in the dark myself."

"Oh, and Five. Tomorrow, go ask Cynthia Grant what kind of nutrients a pregnant woman needs. Also, tell Saul Sterling and Nolan Jennings to report to Flora Bloom’s place tomorrow."

Five watched Lex Cross go upstairs to his room, and his expression suddenly crumpled. The commotion on the stairs had drawn out Saul Sterling, who emerged from his room yawning and patted Five on the shoulder.

"Boss is back?"

Five nodded.

"You look so miserable. What’s wrong? Did the Boss chew you out?"

Five’s face was suddenly a mask of misery. "Hey, Fortuneteller... I’ve followed the Boss for so long. You tell me, if our sister-in-law and I both fell into the ocean, who do you think the Boss would save first?"

Saul Sterling nearly choked on Five’s question. "My condolences," he said, and started heading downstairs.

"Fortuneteller, I’ve followed the Boss since I was a kid. What does he even see in our sister-in-law? Fine, so I misunderstood her. But I have a feeling that if I don’t accept her, things are going to end very, very badly for me!"

"I’ve been meaning to ask you," Saul Sterling said as he went downstairs and poured a glass of water. "Anyone can see that Chelsea Todd is not as innocent as she appears. She’s always going after our sister-in-law. I refuse to believe you can’t see that. So why do you keep helping her? The Boss was already being incredibly merciful by just having you escort her back to Argent. What more do you have to complain about?"

Five fell silent for a moment. "Remember the year we first arrived on Earth?"

Saul Sterling nodded. "You mean when you disappeared for three months and came back on your own?"

"Yeah. It was Chelsea Todd’s grandfather who saved me. She was just a little kid back then, but she looked after me."

"So that’s why you’re so protective of her. A life-debt," Saul Sterling said with dawning realization. "How come you never told us?"

"What was there to say? I know Chelsea targets our sister-in-law, but she wasn’t like this when she was a kid. She was kind and innocent, even if she was a little mischievous sometimes. It must be from hanging around Tianna Bloom for too long."

Saul Sterling shrugged, his expression noncommittal. "A life-debt is hard to repay, that’s true. But I’m telling you, from my perspective, Chelsea Todd’s issues don’t all stem from that Tianna Bloom woman. Don’t get yourself in too deep over this. Besides, we have to go back eventually.

"Since coming back here, I can feel my power slowly returning. It must be connected to that volcano that came out of the spatial rift. Once the rifts multiply, this entire pocket of space will shatter. That Chelsea Todd... she’s going to die here sooner or later. Don’t get too attached."

Five lowered his head in silence, a stark contrast to his usual energetic personality. "I know. She isn’t like our sister-in-law, who has the power to break through to Nebula Level and leave this place with us. *Sigh*. Forget it. I’m going to bed."

The next morning, Flora Bloom rolled over and woke up.

"Huh? Where’d he go?"

Just then, the door to the room opened. "Looking for me, Flora?"

Flora Bloom blushed. "No! I just... you’re up early!"

Lex Cross walked in, carrying a bowl of porridge Ethan Monroe had made. "Old Monroe made you breakfast. From now on, you need to eat three meals a day, right on time. You can’t miss a single one, you hear?"

Listening to Lex Cross’s gentle but nagging admonishments, Flora Bloom’s heart suddenly filled with a pang of bitterness and sorrow for some reason. A frustrating emotion with no outlet welled up inside her, and she could only pout and glare at him.