The day the family received the news, everyone's mood turned sour. Even the staff's mood became darker. Taeui, who easily picked up the energy in the room, was no exception. Even if it didn't mean much to him personally, he was still related to the news in more ways than he wanted.
"Why are you getting nervous about this?" Ilay asked, watching Taeui getting dressed after his shower.
"You say that because nothing fazes you."
Once Taeui was fully dressed, they went downstairs for breakfast. "How long are they going to stay here?"
"A few days. A week tops."
The news that the rest of the Riegrow family would join them to discuss the succession further was delivered by Mr Riegrow over dinner a couple of days before. A heavy silence settled at the table, and Taeui's worries grew all over again. The meeting between Mr Riegrow and his brothers was initially going to take place in a few months, and ideally, they would continue to meet regularly to discuss the terms of the inheritance until an agreement was reached.
However, everyone was taken by surprise when Mr Riegrow's older brother collapsed and had to stay a few days in the hospital. The second he was discharged, he pressured everyone to have an emergency meeting to ensure Riegrow's inheritance was in order before he passed.
It all came down to this meeting: how the Riegrow family would proceed from now and how long Kyle and Ilay would have to get their partners pregnant. And just like how Ilay was an advisor for Tarten's succession, the Riegrow family also requested someone from Tarten to act as advisor and oversee the procedure.
"Keep your guard up. We don't know what our cousins might pull to make sure their children are chosen as candidates or we are disqualified from it."
Taeui took a deep breath. "And you wonder why I'm nervous when all of Riegrow and someone from Tarten will be under one roof?"
Ilay chuckled. "I'll be extra busy from now on. After all, the game has already started."
That was all it was to Ilay – a game. Taeui didn't care to ask or even imagine what he would be up to during this time, he was stressed enough having a house full of people like Riegrow and Tarten because it was bound to become complicated.
"What if they want the candidates to be the children already born?"
That would be the worst outcome. Helena would undoubtedly withdraw them from the candidacy if it came to it.
"They will try. That would be the easier option for them." Ilay shrugged but didn't say anything else, and Taeui didn't ask.
As the days passed, Ilay and Kyle became busier. And everyone in the mansion more restless. The family was showing a united front, and even Ilay, who everyone considered the wild card, was dutifully playing his part.
But, Amber and Scarlet didn't care about that at all.
They were kids, and they wanted to play with their uncles. Even if Daniel and Taeui tried to step in and play with them, it got to a point where they started throwing tantrums to play with the uncles.
It was an extremely warm day, and the girls wanted to play in the pool with Kyle and Ilay and wouldn't take a no. Not even for ice cream or staying up late. The girls had their own strategy, first bringing Kyle onboard by looking all bright-eyed at him when asking him.
"I really look up to you, uncle. I want to be like you when I grow up."
When Amber said these words while clinging to his waist, Kyle faltered and gave up on the spot. "Yes, I will play with you for a bit."
The next step was the hardest. Amber and Scarlet tried the same approach with Ilay, but he didn't yield.
"You already have him, so play with him instead. I don't have time now. I'll play with you later."
There weren't many people who could stand a staring contest with Ilay until the end, especially when their opinion was different and Ilay was straight-up glaring.
In second place was Taeui, who, even if slightly afraid of the repercussions of going against his word, still stood his ground if needed.
And in first place and undefeated champion for the near future was Scarlet.
That staring contest was happening right in front of Taeui, Helena and Kyle. When the tactic they used on Kyle didn't work, Scarlet mixed things up a bit, not taking Ilay's no for an answer. She climbed up to a table to be near his eye level and crossed her arms with a serious face.
"I want to play now."
Ilay stood in front of her, looking down at her, and replied, "No. I have work to do."
"No. We want to play with you now."
"You already have Kyle and Taeui. Take what you have."
"No. We want you, too!"
Ilay stepped closer to his niece, crossing his arms alike and staring down at her. The smile he normally wore for his nieces disappeared, and it was like he was going up against an adult. Scarlet glared at him with her mean face, arms crossed, looking down on him even though she didn't even match his eye level.
"I taught you that mean face. You think you can win against me?" Ilay returned the face and glared back.
Taeui braced himself for the moment she began to cry, afraid of Ilay, but that moment never came. Instead, she took a step forward and hardened her expression even more. It was surreal seeing a three-year-old go against Ilay.
"I can't tell if she is courageous or dumb," Helena murmured.
Taeui chuckled. "She looks like a smaller Ilay."
"Don't you ever teach her how to fight or show her violent shows. She might become like him in the future." Kyle sighed. Taeui looked at him and realised the very possible outcome, and his smile faltered.
As the glaring continued, Kyle was prepared to make peace between them and try to compromise with Scarlet, when her expression eased. Her eyes grew big and sparkly, and she leaned her head to the side, uncrossing her arms and making an overly dramatic pout. She played with her fingers, looking down at them for a moment before looking up at Ilay.
"But uncle… I really want to play with you. Why do you have to work so much?" She spoke in the cutest of voices, prolonging her vowels and batting her eyes.
Ilay's glare faltered, and his eyes mellowed ever so slightly. The corner of his lips lifted a tiny bit, resembling a smile.
"Once the vacation ends, I'll have to go back. And I won't see my favourite uncles for a long time."
Ilay tapped his finger on his arm and continued staring at his niece. There was a slight movement on his throat, and he smiled. A cunning and mischievous smile. As if delivering the finishing blow, Scarlet spoke.
"Uncle Ilay… what's more important? Me or your work?"
To end the discussion, she batted her eyelashes, and her eyes shone as if she was about to cry any second.
After a long moment, Ilay murmured. "You are going to be a hazard to people when you grow up…"
Then he picked his niece up and walked towards the pool. Scarlet wrapped her arms around Ilay's neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, giggling. The three spectators looked at the scene, stunned. She had him wrapped around her finger, and Ilay let it.
'I should start taking notes.'
Taeui thought, but quickly dismissed it. No way he could make such a cute face to ask Ilay for something, much less talk like she did.
However, even those moments became scarce as the day the mansion would receive the rest of the Riegrow family approached. More staff was hired and trained, and the parts of the mansion rarely used were being cleaned to welcome the guests. Then, in what felt like a moment, the day the guests arrived was already here.
Richard arrived a day before the rest of the family, and the second he arrived, there was a meeting. Fortunately, Taeui wasn't required to attend those meetings, but he suspected that it was Ilay who was interfering since Daniel was sometimes asked to be present.
When Taeui asked why was Richard the advisor, Ilay smiled and replied, "It's because of you."
That didn't make sense. Richard never really liked Taeui. But when Christoph appeared a few hours later, it started to make sense.
"Why is Christoph here when he works for T&R?"
After the meeting, Ilay went to work in his room, and Taeui joined him by drinking beer next to him. Ilay looked at him for a moment, putting his laptop to the side and beckoning Taeui closer.
"We needed someone to protect the girls. And with Tarten's heir here, they will walk on their toes before attempting anything."
'Ah, so it was Ilay that plotted this.'
He knew the dynamics between Richard and Christoph, so it was easy to come up with the plan to bring Richard instead of someone else to Riegrow. By hiring Christoph as a live-in bodyguard, Richard would definitely follow, hating to know Christoph would spend so much time with Taeui.
Ilay grabbed Taeui and sat him on his lap, each leg on either side, as he kissed his face.
"I don't mind attending the meetings," Taeui said, putting his finger on Ilay's mouth to stop the kisses.
"I don't want you to."
Ilay bit the finger and then sucked on it. Taeui's eyes focused on his tongue as Ilay began kissing and sucking his skin, from his fingers to his wrist and up his arm.
"Why?"
Taeui took off his shirt and waited for Ilay to continue his parade of kisses.
"I haven't touched them yet, and they are already hard," Ilay said, smiling. However as he went to suck on Taeui's nipples, Taeui covered both of them with his hands. Ilay looked up a dangerous glint in his eye for being denied his favourite snack.
"Why?" Taeui insisted.
Ilay's expression darkened, and his hands clenched around Taeui's bottom.
"Why do you care?"
"Because I do."
"Taeui…"
"Just tell me. Then you can suck on them and more." Taeui moved his hips rubbing his ass on Ilay's growing hardness. The hands clenching his ass tightened.
Ilay stared at Taeui for a long moment, but as Taeui continued rubbing their groins together, his determination slipped.
"I don't want you to worry and stress more than you need to."
The moment he removed his hands from his nipples, Ilay's mouth attached to them. Taeui smiled and brought Ilay's face to his for a breathtaking kiss.
"I can protect myself, you know."
"Not emotionally. I want to protect your peace."