In This Rebirth, The Male Lead Is Mine [BL]
Chapter 148: Union General

Chapter 148: Union General

Rise hastened in his steps, likely knowing where Kamille was. He bit his lips as he chanted for the elevator to hurry up.

It was not that he was worried for Kamille, but that...

The Union General... Who was exactly he?

A real piece of work. An annoying old man.

Damn, hopefully, his Guild Leader would not fight the general; otherwise, it would be a bit troublesome to deal with it.

As Mitchel said, Kamille did meet the Union General, and the latter invited him for a chat. Without having any mood to do anything, Kamille just agreed.

The first part of the conversation was not particularly interesting; Kamille did not even pay attention to most of it until...

The conversation suddenly shifted to Rise.

"I heard Rise Lee joined your Guild." The Union General spoke so casually, seemingly just reminded of this matter. He sipped on his tea, blowing it up slightly as he waited for Kamille’s response.

At the mention of Rise, Kamille’s sensitive nerves were immediately triggered. He was already in an uncomfortable mood to begin with, and hearing Rise’s name being mentioned from the other’s mouth just ticked him off.

Kamille, crossing his legs as he leaned leisurely on the couch, rested his chin on his arm. He gave a languid impression—no way what one expected from a guest of the highest position in the Union.

"He did." Kamille nodded slightly. "He’s my person now." He admitted, his tone giving emphasis to each word.

The Union General paused; his brows rose as his gaze immediately followed. He put down the teapot and met Kamille’s calm gaze.

The two shared quite a long standoff before the Union General cut it.

"Rise Lee’s termination of contract... We never approved of it." The Union General’s expression darkened slightly before he smiled, though it was not sincere.

The wrinkles around his eyes became prominent, but the Union General’s appearance, despite his age, was still handsome.

Kamille did not move from his position, but his gaze became sharp. Anything related to Rise was something he always took seriously.

"He did not need your approval." Kamille’s voice was firm, not breaking off the eye contact.

Kamille did not know anything about the contract Rise had with the union, and he did not bother to know. That was not important before and even more so now.

Again, another standoff occurred between them.

In the end, the Union General was the one who spoke once more.

"Yes, you’re right." He sighed, his shoulders sank slightly. Great disappointment appeared in his expression. "Rise can leave whenever he wants to." Finally, he realized that Kamille would not be threatened just by mere words of his alone.

"However..." The Union General appeared to not have given up yet. "...Rise can still join us again."

Kamille stared at the man before him and saw the conviction in his gaze. He did not react to the words. In fact, he did not feel threatened in the slightest.

He knew where his advantage lay. And that was... himself.

Still, he did not like the idea of others coveting Rise, although that was unavoidable.

"He won’t," Kamille stated with confidence. "Rise won’t leave my Guild."

Other than his presence, Kamille would not make any reason for Rise to leave either.

The Union General, who was about to say something, was taken aback by such confidence. He could not help but look at Kamille deeper. His impression of Kamille was that of indifference and almost emotionless Esper, almost like a machine, fighting and clearing gates left and right.

He never thought he would be able to see such a gaze on this person.

What was it?

"What made you say that?" The Union General never thought Rise would be able to stay to one Guild if ever he left the union.

Rise always gave off the loner and wanderer vibe to others, even to him.

Before Kamille could answer to that, the door of the office swung open aggressively. If not for the strong material, the door might already be just pieces by now.

The Union General did not flinch, and so, Kamille, the two just looked in the direction of the door.

Sure enough, speaking of the devil, Rise had arrived.

The two were not surprised by his arrival at all.

Rise was still trying to catch his breath, but he did not stop until he was already in front of them. He first looked at Kamille before he turned to the Union General.

He narrowed his eyes, not greeting or giving respect.

"What did you say to my Guild Leader? Why did you want to meet him alone?" Rise’s tone and gaze were filled with suspicion. He stood just before Kamille, as though not wanting the two to interact any longer.

"It’s nice to see you again, Rise." The Union General merely smiled, ignoring the blatant disrespect. "I see you’re as lively as ever."

Rise was not having it; he ignored the Union general and looked at Kamille.

"Guild Leader, did this old man say something to you? You don’t need to listen to his bullshits." Rise’s words were harsh, as though he had forgotten who was the person behind him.

The Union general’s eyes twitched slightly, feeling like he was punched all over with Rise’s words. Kamille glanced at him, making him want to vomit blood even more.

"You..." the Union General could only shake his head, touching the back of his head as though Rise’s words made his blood pressure rise. "...is that how you call and talk with your father? You truly... I’ve spoiled you too much!"

Kamille’s brows shot up; clearly surprised by this, he looked at The Union’s General and then at Rise. He did not know this information.

"Correction, foster father." Rise acted like it was not a big deal and was not something that would make the whole federation explode.

Kamille was already surprised; what was more the others?

The Union General frowned, not liking the words.

"I already adopted you legally last year." He seemed to be pursing his lips.

If not for Rise’s refusal, he might have already adopted Rise since he took care of him years ago.

This made Rise pause. He thought for a moment and was reminded immediately.

Oh, it seemed that was the case.

Despite that, he remained unmoved.

"This did not help your case. How many times should I tell you, Stop meddling with my business!"

Rise’s relationship with this foster father of his was not bad but not really good either. It just so happened; he fit the criteria of being his son, so he was adopted.

That was all there was to it.

Kamille did not say anything through all this; however, he sensed the shift in the mood of the general.

He narrowed his gaze and saw raw emotions lingering through the general’s eyes.

[Hurt]

[Sad]

Kamille’s eyes flickered and did not look any further; he was then held by an arm.

"Guild Leader, let’s go."

Kamille let Rise pull him up as they walked towards the door.

Rise turned around slightly and looked back for a moment.

"Father," he called, a rare one. This made the Union General stiffen, his eyes wide as he looked at Rise.

Rise ignored that, like how he ignored the affection given to him through the years.

"I’ve found it already. So... I’ll commit to it until the end."

Rise’s words were vague in the other’s ears, but that made the Union General be stunned, unable to react.

The two did not wait for his response, as Rise was already pulling Kamille’s arm until they were nowhere in sight.

The Union General fell silent for a long time, looking at the door, which had yet to be closed.

After a while, he sucked a breath and glanced at the tea before taking a sip before he leaned his back on the couch.

"He matured."

A smile appeared on his lips as he nodded with satisfaction, like how a parent would seeing their child grow up.

Outside, Rise and Kamille stopped at one corner.

Rise took a deep breath, then finally met Kamille’s gaze.

"Guild Leader... Did he say something to you?"

Rise knew his adoptive father and the type of ’care’ and ’protection’ he could do. In a way, if someone knew of their relationship, they might even wonder if they were real father and son.

Kamille glanced at their locked arms; he fiddled with Rise’s finger.

"Nothing," Kamille lifted his gaze and shook his head. "He only wanted to know your situation."

"Really?" Rise looked so suspicious. That was unlike his adopted father at all.

"What did you think he said?" Kamille raised a brow, smiling.

Rise licked his lips and moved closer. "Like, threatening you?"

Kamille snaked his free hand around Rise’s waist and pulled him closer.

"Does he always do that?" Kamille became curious all of a sudden.

He never knew that Rise had a relative, only knowing he was an orphan, and he never acted like he had a family at all.

Rise sensed the curiosity; he chuckled and hinted.

"What do you think I’m still well and free despite the huge enemies I had?"

Rise had all sorts of scandals; he had a fight that led to injuries because of his hot temper. Some of them were even sons or daughters or even just relatives of huge figures in the Union or the federation as a whole.

"The Union always protects me." Rise started, smiling. He never denied the privilege he had and even was proud to use that for every trouble he caused.

"Is it because of my abilities? They are afraid of the dirt I had on them? That was a part of it... but even with all that, there’s no way the Union will always protect me."

"The Union General..."

Rise laughed. "Bingo. You know, my foster, ah no, my adoptive father... he likes to make threats."

Rise was safe as he made trouble all these years and the Union always ready to protect him and took responsibility for his troubles... A big part of it was the Union General’s protection.

If someone had to win for the biggest abuse of power, his adoptive father would surely win.