Top-Tier Arranged Marriage, but the Dom-Husband Has Amnesia - Chapter 8

“I do, you.”

That said, Noah did not really take these miscellaneous insects to heart.

After all, when fishing with a straight hook, a smart insect would surely see through the attempt at probing. Those who jumped out under these circumstances were either truly stupid or had someone else lurking behind them. Whether they were bona fide fools or cannon fodder sent to charge on behalf of others, Noah could not help but feel a lack of interest.

Boring.

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” he thought, feeling lackluster.

Which fish to butcher first?

He opened his sleepy eyes, rested his chin on his hand, and began to seriously recall the details of the three conversations.

Time rewound three hours.

The first fish came from the company.

The windows were bright and the floors were clean.

A male insect, wearing a suit and standing nearly two meters tall, talked incessantly about his business philosophy. When he grew excited, he waved his arms, and the projection on the floor swayed frantically, writhing and twisting like a ghostly shadow.

The young Lord Saint grew sleepy just listening to him.

He gave a lazy, perfunctory response and dismissed the insect with a wave of his hand.

Following that, a young male insect appeared.

Considering that the other party was also a male insect, and that as the Chief of the Holy Land, all male insects were essentially half his own kin, Noah rubbed his temples. He forced out some patience for dealing with a fool, and with great restraint, listened to the other party finish that vague, insinuation-laden, repetitive nonsense.

“You mean to say…”

He summarized, “Some insects are taking advantage of my amnesia to push forward the motions I previously suppressed, and their leader is none other than my own husband?”

“Exactly!”

Noah raised an eyebrow slightly, neither saying he believed it nor that he did not. His eyes remained smiling, his gaze light and carrying a certain power that could force silence upon others. He swept his eyes slowly over the indignant male insect, who had self-consciously shut his mouth, and said nonchalantly, “I see.”

As for that last little fish…

Noah stared for a few seconds at the small male insect standing obediently before him, who was not even as tall as his waist. He raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, “How much did your father pay to bribe me?”

“…”

The little male insect: Stunned on the spot.jpg

Within the Holy Land, besides regular kinship or friendships, there existed a special relationship, one that required notarization by the [Holy Land] and was officially registered, known as “Guide” and “Guided,” commonly referred to as teacher and student.

The little fool before him did not even understand basic facial management; clearly, he did not meet his standards for taking on a student.

Either it was a deliberate attempt to scam him, or the other party’s father had secretly offered him benefits so great that even a Lord Saint could not refuse. There was no third possibility.

The lie was exposed on the spot.

The little male insect lowered his head obediently and apologized honestly, “I am sorry, Lord Noah. I lied just now. I am actually not your student.”

Noah commented, “Your skin is too thin.”

“Huh?”

The young Lord Saint chuckled lightly, “Either do not do it, or do it big. If I were you, I would have set up some half-truth, half-false evidence to make the title of ‘student’ stick. Even if you were accidentally exposed, a dignified Lord Saint could not possibly be hard on an eight-year-old child, could he?”

As he spoke, he casually ruffled the little male insect’s beautiful blonde hair into a mess, a small punishment.

“Next time you go out swindling, remember to be a bit smarter.”

Realizing he was not being blamed, the little male insect blinked, looking well-behaved and full of energy, and replied, “Okay!” He did not seem to think there was anything wrong with a Lord Saint teaching him how to commit fraud.

With a few words, he dismissed the little one.

Noah rested his hands on his knees, watching the sunlight outside the window, his brain swiftly and methodically sorting through the complex and chaotic information.

The first one was not worth mentioning; it was fake at a glance.

The second one…

The intention to sow discord was extremely obvious, yet the information provided was clear and was the type easiest to verify. It was hard to say what his actual motives were, but the intelligence itself was likely true.

The third one was pure fraud; I will skip it.

Which one to sacrifice to warn the others?

Noah lowered his eyelids, curled his fingers, and tapped the armrest rhythmically, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He was deep in thought.

Without him noticing when he had snuck back in, the Chief Councilor sat down opposite him quite naturally. He poured himself a cup of tea, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the coffee table, and began to enjoy his afternoon tea at a leisurely pace.

Noah: “…” Stare.

For some reason, his hands suddenly felt itchy; he really wanted to deal with that insect as well.

🙂

Noticing his gaze, Igris generously grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, offered them to him in a friendly manner, opened his hand, and moved it forward, “Eat?”

Noah frowned slightly and said coldly, “…No need.”

The seeds were pulled back.

Mr. Chief Councilor stroked his chin, thought seriously for a moment, and realized something. He placed the seeds back onto the plate, tapped the edge of the plate with his finger, and in the next second, the dense pile of seeds split open on their own, revealing the plump, lovely kernels. He then patiently picked out the kernels one by one and plated them.

After thinking about it, he chose some fruits from the fruit basket, peeled them, arranged the thin skins into small flowers, cut the flesh into small pieces, and inserted bamboo skewers. Finally, he did not forget to pour a cup of tea, placed it all on a tray, and offered it neatly to the male insect.

Noah: “…”

That was not exactly what he had meant.

Since the items were already placed before him, Noah found it hard to refuse. He simply took them, picked up a few, and put them into his mouth.

Actually, they were quite tasty.

So he ate a few more.

By the time he realized it, the tea in the cup had hit the bottom, and the nuts and pastries on the plate had been completely consumed. An unconventional, or rather, excessively simple afternoon tea had thus been finished.

The young Lord Saint put down his cup and fell into deep thought while staring at the bottom of it.

…What was he going to do again?

Before Noah’s gaze at the teacup turned unkind, Igris brought the topic back just in time, “My Lord, have you chosen your target?” His tone was light, like a chef at a restaurant, enthusiastically inviting his master to order.

It seemed that as long as Noah gave the word, he would provide different dishes according to his needs.

Noah’s eyelashes fluttered, and he avoided his gaze.

Yet, his mind recalled the intelligence brought by the second fish regarding his husband’s suspected backstabbing.

…Frankly speaking, it is annoying.

But only a little bit.

At the end of the day, theirs is just a political marriage. A silent understanding of unity on the outside, and each relying on their own abilities on the inside, was something they had written into their prenuptial agreement from the start. If the situation were reversed and it was Igris who had lost his memory instead of him, Noah would have done the exact same thing, looting a burning house without hesitation.

It was wariness.

It was also the respect due to a formidable enemy.

Of course, if Igris really treated him like some pretty vase and played the gentlemanly, accommodating card, Noah would not feel insulted; he would simply accept it without hesitation.

He remained silent for too long, seemingly interpreting his silence as hesitation. Mr. Chief Councilor stroked his chin and suggested, reveling in the chaos, “If you truly do not know what choice to make, just pick the ugliest one, the one that makes you the most irritated and the one you find most displeasing to the eye.”

“There must be at least one like that, right?”

Noah glanced at him, his face cold.

I do.

You.

As for the “ugliest.”

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze scanning the insect’s lazy face without a trace. At other times, Noah might have been able to objectively praise his own aesthetic standards from before he lost his memory, but now, the Lord Saint thought quite critically: Just two eyes, one nose, one mouth.

Heh.

I wonder if I was blind before I lost my memory.

Internal complaints aside, Noah did not intend to provoke an insect he should not provoke while he lacked sufficient certainty, especially since he now knew the other party was his ultimate hunting target.

For now, he just gave a perfunctory reply: “I have not decided yet. I will think about it more.”

“Remember to find me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

The exchange was brief and cold, and the intent to keep the other at arm’s length was very clear. Seeing that his master had no need for help, and noticing the obvious “get lost” expression on the Lord Saint’s face, the Chief Councilor, who did not really want to go back to work, sighed and walked away while looking back every few steps.

The reception hall became quiet again.

Noah rubbed his temples.

Although he really wanted to let this husband of his know the consequences of teasing him, considering that the main course should be saved for after the appetizers, and clashing with a powerful opponent too early was not a good thing, he frowned almost imperceptibly and finally pushed that dangerous thought to the back of his mind.

Forget it.

I will endure it a little longer.

He rubbed his temples, stood up, and took a few steps to stand on the balcony.

From his angle, he could just happen to see the spacecraft docked nearby and the back of a certain Chief Councilor. Seeming to sense his gaze, Igris stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and flashed a bright smile toward the direction of the male insect.

The sun was bright, without a shadow.

“…”

Noah did not show much expression on his face and coldly turned his head away.

His clean, slender knuckles, resting on the railing, were silently clenched. With a slight force, his joints made a crackling sound, characteristic of stretching one’s bones.

Tsk.

Why do I feel even more annoyed?

And as for his husband…

The other party radiated a relaxed and happy aura, as if the major event of the master accidentally losing his memory had not caused him any negative impact from beginning to end.

Come to think of it, that made sense.

As the saying goes, “Get promoted, get rich, and have your partner die.” Losing his memory and turning into a stupid master who could be molded at will, how was that any different from dying? Once he regained his freedom, he would have no more enemies in the political arena, and from then on, he could do whatever he wanted. Whoever was in his shoes would be happy, would they not?

Annoying.

Unhappy.

Noah: Angry as a pufferfish.jpg

…I really want to teach Igris Orwell that dog-thing a lesson.

He felt lethargic, leaned his head back against the sofa, and stared at the snow-white ceiling, feeling a wave of frustration in his chest.

Reason told him that accumulating strength and settling the score later was the optimal strategy; emotionally, however, he felt very uncomfortable and really wanted to try doing something, even if it was just to make the other’s schemes fall through.

One moment of forbearance leads to even more anger.

He simply lowered his head and did some mental math:

The night he woke up after losing his memory, Igris intentionally set him up to be a laughingstock, an unforgivable sin.

Without permission, he recklessly fused his spiritual sea with his, an even greater crime.

Despite promising not to move his hands and feet on him again, he turned the tables and attempted to take advantage of him, death penalty!

Death penalty!!

The result of his growing anger was that he became bold enough to commit evil.

The young Lord Saint took a deep breath and smiled, but that smile, no matter how one looked at it, carried a murderous aura:

Anyway, if nothing goes wrong, based on the other’s personality, he will definitely continue to bully him. Then, it should not be too much for him to strike back in advance, cause the other party some trouble, and collect some interest, right?

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