"Good news?" Maria wondered with a curious yet confused look on her face.
'What could it be?' she thought.
"Wait..." Maria immediately covered Rudy's head with the hoodie and said with a panicked look on her face, "What if someone had seen you?!"
"Oh, don't worry. I already told Rusher everything," he said calmly.
"Wha...t?" She stepped back and fell on the couch in shock. "Why would you do that?!"
"Calm down. He was actually quite happy." Rudy sat beside Maria and hugged her.
"He was? I don't understand what's going on. Why would he be happy, and... why did you even tell him that you were a boy?"
"Does that matter?" He placed his hand from Maria's back to her shoulders and made a distance between them. "Aren't you glad that everything worked out?"
"I am, but... this is so sudden. And I never expected my brother to be okay with this. I am actually freaked out since this matter settled quickly," she muttered. "Is this what they call 'silence before storm'?"
"Just be happy, you gambling idiot." Rudy moved his face close to Maria's face and pressed his lips on her.
Maria was a little... no, she was more than a little surprised since Rudy was kissing her in the open. She trusted what Rudy told her, but she did think of it as a prank, but when Rudy kissed her, she realized everything was happening for real.
Maria couldn't help but kiss Rudy back. And they kissed and kissed until a few minutes passed.
'She is bad at kissing, but that's her charm.'
Rudy heard footsteps approaching them, but he didn't stop and continued kissing Maria.
Once the footsteps stopped, a voice followed, "What the hell is going on here?"
It was Rusher, who had come to inform Rudy about the tournament, but he saw his sister-slash-daughter making out with him.
As soon as Maria heard Rusher's voice, she pushed Rudy back and turned to Rusher with a pale face.
"B-Bro-Brother, it's not what you think--"
"Don't worry, Maria." Rudy wrapped his arm around Maria's shoulders and said, "He already knows it, and he has given us his blessings."
"...." - Maria.
"...." -Rusher.
"Right, brother-in-law?" Rudy asked with a smirk on his face.
"Y-Yeah..."
"Really?!" Maria cheered excitedly.
"Yeah. He even said we should get engaged soon and marry once this tournament week ends," Rudy added.
"What?!" Rusher and Maria exclaimed at the same time.
But seeing Rusher exclaim with her, Maria turned to Rusher and asked, "Did you truly say that, brother?"
"Yeah. Why not..." Rusher responded while turning his face to the side.
"Wow..." Maria couldn't be happier after that. "This is so awesome. This is the best day of my life!"
"Every day will be the best day of your life once we get married," Rudy reassured.
"I know!" Maria hugged Rudy tightly while saying, "I am so happy right now!"
After seeing the delighted look on Maria's face, Rusher smiled slightly and muttered, "I have never seen her so happy before. At least, I was able to do something to make her happy-- although I didn't actually do anything."
"Did you say something, brother?" Maria asked.
"Yeah." Rusher pointed his gaze at Rudy and said, "Rudy said he would take care of you and this syndicate, so I am happy. I can finally take a break."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Maria asked with a confused look on her face. "Why would he take care of the syndicate? Ruby is the leader."
"You see, it's an old custom that if the leader of the syndicate is a girl, then she must have a male partner. But obviously that's an old tradition of our syndicate and I don't really care or want to impose that on Ruby.
However, to avoid unnecessary qualms from the other organization within our syndicate, we would need a male partnerfor Ruby. And who could be a better candidate than Rudy?" Rusher asked in a confident voice.
"I still don't understand what you are trying to say," Maria remarked. "Are you perhaps planning to make Rudy the leader of this syndicate while Ruby rules it?" She asked in a neutral tone.
"Not exactly. We cannot just write anyone's name and label them as leaders. Our syndicate won't accept an outsider. That's why Rudy has to become our family member. He has to marry Ruby," Rusher asserted with a serious look on his face.
"What?!" Maria exclaimed.
'Damn, this bastard pulled a reverse card. And everything he said actually makes sense,' Rudy uttered inwardly.
"Wait, why?! I don't understand. Why would Rudy have to marry Ruby?! If he has to become a family member, then he will become one when he marries me, right?!"
"He will, indeed." Rusher nodded and said, "But you have no power in this syndicate, Maria. You cannot change anything nor make any decisions. But as a direct heir, Ruby can do that."
"No way!" Maria hugged Rudy and yelled, "I am not giving my Rudy to anyone!"
"You have to understand, Maria. This syndicate is dying. If not Rudy, then someone else will eventually marry Ruby and take power from her. You wouldn't want to get our syndicate in the wrong hands, right?"
"But... why would you do this to me..." Maria bit her lips and clenched her fists tightly before saying, "All my life, I have done as I was told. I never broke the rules, nor did I ever try to do something that would be against the laws of the syndicate.
I never asked for many things, and whenever I did, Ruby got it first. I don't hate her. I don't envy her either. She is my beloved niece, and I would do anything for her. So why..."
"...."
Tears rolled down her eyes as she said, "Rudy is mine! I won't give him to anyone else!"
Rusher glanced at Rudy and gestured for him to do something.
"Maria." Rudy sat her on the couch and continued, "You are misunderstanding."
"I am not! He wants to give you to Ruby!"
"Yes, you are right, but there is more. He doesn't intend to break us apart. He is saying that I will have to marry both you and Ruby. We will still be together," he calmly said.
