When Rowan passes out, Everett could finally relax a little.
âYou canât let him pass out as well,â Alden grumbled. â He has to stay awake and go meet Rowan in a normal state.â
Only by convincing Rowan that the soâcalled chip is a hoax would they be able to completely destroy his psychological defences and reveal everything covered up behind the scenes.
Otherwise, Everett would still have to endure some suffering.
Both Duncan and Ninian fell silent after hearing that.
Everett had already endured a lot while being tied up. How could he stand and face Rowan as if nothing had happened?
It was an impossible idea.
âWeâll talk about that later. Letâs take it slow for now,â Duncan lamented. âEverett has been through enough in these two days. I really canât bring myself to force him to do it.â
Also, it was not something that could not be forced.
It was already difficult for a person under control to stay sane, let alone act unperturbed.
âWhereâs Everettâs laptop?â Alden asked. âHe said he found some clues, but hadnât had time to tell you guys about them.â
âI think I know what documents youâre talking about,â Duncan said after a brief moment of thought.
âEverett gave them to me the last time, but he didnât have the chance to explain before passing out. His files are encrypted, and I couldnât get them open. I asked the help of the best hackers I know, but even they were unable to decipher it.â
âLet me try.â Alden looked up and said, âI can do it.â
Duncanâs face lit up when he remembered Aldenâs background. âOh, yes! How could I forget? Wait a minute, Iâll go get it for you!â
âIâll go with you,â Alden said. He paused for a moment, turned to face Ninian, and said, âGrapie, you can just stay here with him. Heâs been through a lot today, so give him some time to rest.â
Ninian looked up in surprise. When she saw the supportive and understanding look from her brother, suddenly tears welled up in her eyes.
âOkay. Thanks, Alâ¦â
Alden nodded and followed Duncan out of the secret room without saying anything else.
Once they walked out of the room, Duncan squinted at him and sighed, âIs the God who doesnât know the sufferings of the world finally willing to bless us with his presence in the mortal world?â
Alden knew that he was making fun of him, but he just rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Duncan lacked the attitude and selfâconsciousness of a CEO or head of the family. âDo you support your younger sister and my younger brotherâs relationship?â He continued teasing him.
Alden kept his gaze forward, kept on walking, and ignored him.
âYour personality is similar to that of your older brother, George. You guys are no fun,â Duncan grumbled. â However, there are some pluses to being a boring but mature person. At the very least, I believe we are similar in age and have no barriers between us. As weâre about to become inâlaws in the future, itâs natural that we must get along from now, right?â
Alden stopped in his tracks, sideâeyed him with cold scorn, and said, âYouâre hilarious, Mr. Craig.
Youâre already in your thirties, whereas me and my siblings are barely out of our twenties. I donât believe weâre old enough to be your friends.â
âItâs not fun to poke fun at peopleâs ages, you knowâ¦â Duncan said.
Alden snorted, ignored him once more, and continued walking.
Duncan followed him. While stroking his chin he jokingly said, âBut you arenât against me saying that weâre in- laws, huh? You also allowed Ninian to accompany Everett alone. You seem to have accepted reality.â
âIt makes no difference whether I accept it or not. The point is that someone in my family will most definitely refuse to accept it. As long as heâs against it, donât even think about stealing sister, even if you have plans to betroth the entire Craig family to us.â
Duncan straightened up in response to Aldenâs words. â Who are you referring to? Is it George?â
âJust wait,â Alden said calmly as he paced forward leisurely. âThat person will be back very soon.â
If Dad had known that not only Mel, but also Grapie had been swept off their feet, he believed that things were about to go down in Cairnstan.
After that, no matter how hard Duncan tried to get the information from Alden, he remained calm and kept his mouth sealed.
While Alden was trying to crack the code to Everettâs files, Duncan, who was extremely curious about it, went to Ninian and tried to get information from her instead.
But after hearing that, Ninianâs expression changed a little.