"If we were to line up according to our skills, I should be the first in line! None of you have bested me before!" Another man stepped forward with his hands on his hips. He had a bulging belly and held his head high, his blond hair gleaming under the lights."Oh, get off it! You had no choice but to settle disputes with violence because no one wants to take you seriously. We don't need to always resort to violence, which makes you think you're stronger than us.""Shut the fuck up! Say one more word, and I'll end you right here!""I'll show you whether you're worthy of standing in front of us!"Darius raised an eyebrow, surprised at their squabbling. Then, he scoffed and called out, "I actually don't care how you guys line up, but you should know I can hear everything you say and do outside there. If you do anything to upset me, I'm not going to leave a record of whatever you say. And I'm sure you still remember what will happen if your name doesn't show on my list."This only agitate
Everyone's attention fell on him. At the same time, some of the more agile bodyguards started searching for the source of this sudden attack. Then, they saw Darius standing behind the crowd with his arms crossed and a faint smile curling his lips. In that instant, everyone gasped.Darius put his hands behind his back and smiled at them. "Are you guys stopping because I'm here? Go ahead!" No one dared to move because his smile didn't meet his eyes—he obviously wasn't in a great mood. When he saw this, he continued, "All of you had plenty to say earlier, right? Why so silent now?" He yawned. "I remember making myself clear when you guys first showed up at my door—I wanted you to silently get in line and that I would see you one by one when the time was right. Yet, we're already in the wee hours." As he spoke, he lifted his watch to show them the time. "Look at the time."Then, he lowered his arm and put his hands behind his back again, balling them into fists. "I'm almost done signing
"My name's Robert Reid. As you can see, I have an appearance that calls for attention, so no one wanted to take me under their wing, which also means I'm solely loyal to the Reid family. However, before coming here, many people approached me, wanting me to secretly work for them. They felt that my appearance and clean slate would make me a likely candidate to be picked to protect you—if Bridget and Edward were busy with other things, that would free up space for new bodyguards to work with you." He paused here, then added, "Of course, this is everything that they told me. I didn't probe around for any of this information. I'm sure you're aware of how closely the Reid family guards its members' information. There's no way I'd be able to dig up these things on my own." Then, an apologetic look crept onto his face. "Rest assured that I didn't agree to work for any of them despite desperately needing their help. They picked other people over me, which has made me a prime target for bull
Darius let out a chuckle when he saw the newcomer. "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought we'd talked about everything earlier."Winston smiled. "We did, but I didn't want anyone to know about that. That's why I'm here again. I'm sorry for wasting your time." He gave Darius a sharp bow. At the same time, he gave Darius a pleading look, not wanting Darius to expose his true identity.Darius crossed his arms and smiled mockingly. "Still, I'm curious—how did you sneak in here as part of the team of bodyguards? As far as I'm aware, they all know each other. You shouldn't know any of them, and vice versa."Winston smiled. "That's where you're wrong. We all know each other because I've driven them around before. We've had some fun times together. They don't know I'm not one of the Reid family's bodyguards, but I suppose my presence here will make them think I'm from a batch before theirs or something. Perhaps they think I'm not doing too well for myself, which would explain why I'm here
"It's just that no one bothered telling you anything." Darius shook his head.As a professionally-trained bodyguard, Winston suddenly sensed the murderous intent hidden in Darius' gaze and actions—he wanted to kill him. Winston tensed, not knowing what had caused this sudden change. He patted himself on the chest and thought, "I've never even thought about hurting Darius from the moment I met him, nor do I intend to do anything to him." Still, Darius obviously didn't share this viewpoint. Winston gave him a pained look and said, "Darius, I've never done anything to harm you, but you're being really hostile now. I'm sure you're aware of how obvious your emotions are right now."Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled mockingly. "So what if I were to kill you now? You showed up here pretending to be one of the Reid family's bodyguards. If you were to try to harm me in any way, I'd have every right to end you. Everyone, including the authorities, would agree with me on this. Even if you wer
Darius was used to people looking at him like that, but he could feel his blood boiling at the thought of someone raised by the Reid family being the one to look at him like that. He sighed and said, "You're someone the Reid family trained. No matter where your loyalties lay, you need to remember that you're considered part of the Reid family and that the people you're loyal to are also members of the Reid family. Don't let me catch you giving someone puppy-dog eyes and begging for mercy at the slightest pressure. Otherwise, you'll have a terrible end." The bodyguards outside the room immediately dropped their terror and wariness at his words. However, the one standing before Darius collapsed to his knees again and held his hands up beside his head, looking terrified. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears as he stammered, "S-Sorry, Mr. Reid. I didn't mean t-to offend you." Darius rolled his eyes and balled the hand atop the desk into a fist. He got to his feet and strode to
Darius had a smile on his face. Edward's eyes widened in disbelief as he said, "So, is he someone we can trust? I never would've expected this to happen." He lowered his head, looking exhausted. He wanted to sneak a peek at Darius to see what he thought about this but knew that as a professional bodyguard, that wasn't within the list of things he was allowed to do. Ultimately, he sighed and fell silent, frowning as he shut his eyes.Darius couldn't help chuckling at how forlorn he looked. He patted Edward on the shoulder and said, "Now, now. There's no need for that. You're a bodyguard, and even if you've gone through rigorous training to get to where you are, it's only normal that you don't know about these things. After all, this wasn't part of your training, nor were you given the chance to pick up on this. It's just like whatever medical knowledge you gain during your training is only enough to do simple first-aid and not a full-blown operation. You can't expect to become a busin
The bodyguards immediately sagged in relief. Darius smirked and said, "I wasn't talking to you guys." They immediately tensed up again. Darius turned to Edward, saying, "You need to get ready to record what they're about to say."Edward nodded and sat on the sofa. He grabbed a pen and waited for the bodyguards to speak. As he did this, Darius walked over to the door and shut it. The bodyguards trembled violently when he walked past them. Then, Darius channeled his life force to his palm, forming a rope with it and dragging a chair to him so he could sit. The bodyguards gaped at him—in their eyes, the chair had flown to Darius as if he'd summoned it. They stopped trembling and became as still as statues, not knowing how to react to this.Darius placed his arms on the armrests and sighed. Then, he shut his eyes as he tapped a finger on the armrest, looking calm. The bodyguards kneeling on the floor were the opposite of him—they all looked terrified as they stared at Darius. "We don't