"Son, how many eggs does this company you invest in produce daily?" Ryu asked, arms crossed, his tone casual but eyes sharp with interest.
Venzel blinked, then mentally snapped into calculation mode.
Ten chickens… one egg every fifteen minutes… that's four an hour… times ten chickens… forty an hour… twenty-four hours... that's…
He cleared his throat, straightening his back slightly.
"At least nine hundred a day, sir, I mean, Uncle, haha slip of tongue." he said with a sheepish grin.
Ryu raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed.
Soho let out a short laugh from where she was already rinsing some plates.
"Quick to switch into business mode, huh. I like it," she teased with a smirk.
Then, with a single clap of her hands and a pointed look at the two still standing around, her tone shifted.
"Alright, enough egg talk for now. We'll discuss the logistics after dinner. Both of you, get your hands washed, plates ready, and no more business talks in the kitchen!"
Soho wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and turned toward Venzel, her expression softening into a warm, motherly smile.
"Oh and son, go call your parents," she said gently, nodding toward the hallway.
Venzel gave a quick nod, lips curled in amusement. "Yes, ma'am."
Just as he turned to leave, her expression shifted like a light switch flipping.
"And you," she snapped, spinning toward Ryu with narrowed eyes and no trace of the previous sweetness, "help me carry this to the dining room."
Ryu flinched, visibly startled by the sudden shift in tone.
"Eh? Me?"
"Yes, you. What, you think the dishes float now? Or I can suddenly talk to ghosts?"
Ryu muttered silently under his breath as he reached for the plates, "Oh I've no doubt about that. You're the devil."
Venzel chuckled, shaking his head, and stepped out onto the porch.
The fading sun had already begun to cast long shadows across the fields.
That's when he spotted them, his parents, walking hand in hand along the field path.
The warm light of sunset bathed them in gold as Aoki chuckled at something Tsuki whispered.
Their laughter was soft and comfortable.
The kind of laughter that only came from years of knowing and choosing each other.
Venzel stood still and didn't approach the two right away.
Instead, he lingered nearby, quietly watching.
He wasn't trying to snoop.
Not really.
But there was something sacred about witnessing your parents still being in love.
It made him feel oddly small and warm at the same time.
A breeze carried their words over.
"Ever since that Kana entered our family," Aoki said with a proud smile in his voice, "Venzel's grown a lot."
Tsuki let out a soft laugh and leaned into his side, resting her head briefly on his shoulder as they walked.
"Yes, yes. She's such a sweetheart. It was only a day and…"
Tsuki's voice was light, almost dreamy. "Now look—Venzel's forced to take care of the farm… I'm so happy she can change that stubborn mule."
Venzel blinked, a crooked smile tugging at his lips.
'Forced,' huh?
He shoved his hands into his pockets, shook his head slightly, and turned away, fighting the urge to grin too wide.
Then, as if he hadn't heard a thing, he cupped his hands around his mouth and started shouting loudly.
"Mooom! Daaad! Where are you?"
His voice echoed across the fields.
From down the path, Aoki burst out laughing and hollered back, "Son! We're right here!"
Venzel turned and jogged over, waving like he'd only just noticed them. "Ah, there you are! Dinner's ready—come on, let's eat!" he said, smiling wide, already heading toward the house.
As he passed them, Tsuki suddenly turned to Aoki with a glint in her eye and whispered, "We definitely need to meet Kana's parents soon and start planning the marriage."
Aoki nearly tripped. "Wh-what? You're bringing that up now?"
"Mmm, why not?" Tsuki replied, casually looping her arm through his. "No one heard us anyway." She let out a soft, mischievous laugh as they began walking back.
Aoki sighed and shook his head, but he was smiling too. "You're something else…"
Venzel pulled out his phone as he walked, his thumb hovering briefly before tapping open the chat window with Kana.
'Darling, I hope everything's well on your side. Call me when you can.'
He stared at the message for a second, then hit send.
A soft chime followed. He slipped the phone back into his pocket with a faint smile and stepped through the front door.
Inside, the house buzzed with low chatter and the clinking of dishes. Warmth wafted from the kitchen, the aroma of food lingering thick in the air.
As he rounded the corner, he nearly bumped into Renji, who was parked near the hallway wall, face buried in his phone, eyes unblinking, fingers twitching rapidly across the screen.
Venzel raised a brow. "You're gonna ruin your eyes like that, you know."
Renji didn't even glance up. "Shut up. Who are you to talk to me like that?" he muttered, voice dripping with irritation. "I'll sew that mouth of yours shut if you don't disappear."
The threat wasn't new.
But instead of rising to it, Venzel simply chuckled, amused.
"Mm-hm," he hummed, shaking his head as he walked past. "Be careful with that attitude. You might trip over it one day."
Renji muttered something under his breath, but Venzel was already gone.
As he stepped into the dining room, the scene shifted like walking onto the stage of a different play.
There sat Uncle Ryu now wearing a lopsided, dazed smile that didn't match his usual businessman air.
Across from him, Aunt Soho held court with effortless command, chin raised just slightly, eyes glittering as she talked animatedly with her hands.
She was in her element, poised, opinionated, and absolutely radiant in that moment.
Ryu nodded eagerly at every word, hanging onto her sentences like they were gospel.
There was a strange joy in seeing a man so typically formidable sit utterly disarmed by the sheer presence of his wife.
A quiet smirk tugged at Venzel's lips.
"Is that what I'll be like once I marry Kana? …Doesn't look so bad."