Zach apologized and lightened the atmosphere at the same time before pulling out the chair.
Luna waited for Zach to sit down before she sat down on the seat adjacent to his. Even though Zach never treated her as below him but Luna never tried to act equal to him. Instead she voluntarily stayed a step behind him as if trying not to forget her own position.
Since she didn't need to eat, she only kept putting food on Zach's plate as she urged him to eat well.
Zach didn't feel uncomfortable at all under her care. She had been doing this even when they had been wandering in the forest.
While Luna didn't need to eat, she could at least accompany him during his meals. Zach too appreciated her presence since eating alone was depressing even for him who had lived most of his life previous life behind a screen in his room.
Diana looked at the two in front of her with a weird gaze as if she couldn't understand the dynamic between the two.
Even though she could not understand the relationship between the two, she could at least make an educated guess based on the harmonious atmosphere between the two as if they were in a world of their own despite not engaging in conversation with each other even once during the entire meal.
On the other hand Zach talked with Bruce from time to time in an attempt to glean some information about the Hina Empire because it was what Zach currently lacked. He needed information about the human power structure to see where he could fit in this world.
The dinner lasted for an hour and then some. Bruce and Diana had long since finished their food while Luna didn't eat to begin with. She only busily piled up food on Zach's plate.
No one asked her to eat anything since they already knew she followed a specific diet plan.
Zach on the other hand ate to his heart's content long after every one was done.
Luna waited until he was done and then tried to wipe his mouth with a napkin but Zach didn't let her.
He didn't know the Luther family that well and acting in such a way risked him looking pretentious in the eyes of the host.
Zach took the napkin from her hands and wiped his mouth roughly before crumpling it into a ball and placing it on the table.
The dinner concluded once Zach was done.
"I am a bit tired from the journey, so please excuse me for not being able to entertain you a bit longer. I hope you won't take it to heart."
Zach nodded as he smiled at her politely.
Before Zach could excuse himself from the table as well to go and rest, Bruce stopped him from leaving.
"Don't leave yet. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you for a minute alone; in my study. I hope you won't deny me this much."
Zach couldn't leave after Bruce had pulled out such a card. It would make him look ungrateful if he didn't comply with such a simple demand. It once again made him feel that Bruce wasn't as simple as he looked. Every single action of his was carefully calculated and timed so as to achieve the maximum desirable effect.
"Of course, I don't mind. Let's go then." Zach indicated for him to lead the way.
Luna tried to follow after him as if she had ignored everything Bruce had said to Zach.
"Why don't you wait for me here?" Zach wanted to honor his commitment with Bruce.
Luna looked like she wanted to protest against his order but relented to it in the end. She looked deadpan as she watched Zach follow Bruce towards the first floor.
The servant from before was pushing Bruce's wheelchair as she led the way.
When they entered the study room, Bruce shooed the servant away with a gesture of his hand and asked Zach to close the door.
Zach complied and sat on the couch in the middle of the room surrounded by countless bookshelves. Bruce was sitting in his wheelchair exactly on the opposite side of the couch. A table made of glass with a wooden support underneath it was the only thing that separated Zach and Bruce.
"I have called you here to ask you something." Bruce initiated the conversation.
Zach wondered what could have made Bruce so curious as to call him alone in the study.
"Are you truly a human?" Bruce asked with an expression that dictated how serious he was at the moment. If not for his expression, Zach would have burst out laughing at such a question, thinking "Is that even a question? Are your eyes just for show or something?"
Instead he answered with an equally somber expression.
"Of course I am human. Can't you tell?"
"Then why the FUCK are you taking along that FUCKING succubus with you? Her race is the enemy of us humans and you dare to adopt one as a partner.
At the beginning of his rant, Bruce had appeared to be angry at Zach for fraternizing with the enemy which Zach could barely understand based on the racial feud in this world. Even Luna had reacted towards him in the same way and he had only later come to understand the reasoning behind the war through her own mouth.
Zach felt slightly disheartened at such an outburst but he didn't say anything in retaliation. He was trying to be understanding since changing the mindset developed based on the customs and traditions of the region was usually very difficult. He had no intention to change Bruce's opinion regarding him and Luna because it was bound to be a pain in his ass.
But towards the end of his rant, Bruce's voice lowered to a barely audible growl as a threatening element mixed into his overflowing anger.
"I must say your path ahead may get truly complicated should the news about your little succubus was to leak out. After all, such a taboo being broken isn't a small thing around these parts."
"Hahahaha~" Zach laughed out loud contrary to Bruce's expectations.
"I don't think that is going to happen." Zach said to Bruce with a handsome smirk on his face.
"Ohh~…What makes you so sure?" Bruce asked curiously his previous anger nowhere to be found.
"Cause we wouldn't be having this discussion in here…if that was going to happen."
Bruce nodded as he understood the logic behind Zach's confident expression.
Zach had also understood what Bruce wanted to accomplish by bringing him to the study alone.
"He wants to control me. By holding my secret as leverage, he wants to threaten me."
"Aren't you the smart one?" Bruce appreciated with a sarcastic tone.
"He intends to use me for some purpose that he hasn't revealed yet. He is just testing the waters." Countless thoughts ran through Zach's head as he tried to think of a reason why Bruce would need Zach's help. While Zach had nothing to his name, Bruce was the head of Luther family. Even if it wasn't the largest family of the city, it was still considerably higher than ninety nine percent of the population of Elizabeth city.
Once again, Zach cursed his lack of information as he wracked his mind to no avail.
"I have to leave." Zach came to the conclusion in his heart since he was left with no other option if he didn't want to be threatened with this secret at every turn.
"I will be honest with you Mr. Bruce. I didn't expect that it was going to be this kind of meaningless conversation or I would have never accepted your request for this meeting." Zach looked as if he was trying to suppress the rage that was bubbling inside him.
"Although, my beliefs are not as rigid as yours or those of your Empire, I have never done anything that I might regret in the future. And I will continue to do so despite what happened today because I won't be haunted by my conscience that way. Had it not been for this conscience of mine that you seek to control, pieces of your sister would have been lying strewn about in that forest since her death meant nothing to me at all. I am warning you. Don't make me change my mind because it isn't difficult for me to return your sister to the same condition I found her in."