The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

“Aster, I’m going out for a run!”

“Okay!” Astrid answered automatically.

When he heard the front door opening and closing, he clicked the ‘accept’ button on his Terminal screen. Wulfric’s handsome face appeared. Before he could greet him, Wulfric beat him to it.

“Aster, are you okay?” he asked in a tight voice. His brows furrowed, his mouth drawn into a tense line, and his eyes wide with fear, he wore the expression of someone deeply worried.

Astrid was startled by the strong reaction Wulfric was showing right now. If others would see Wulfric in this state, they would think Astrid was in a mortal danger or something.

When he didn’t answer immediately, Wulfric seemed to have made his own conclusion. His troubled expression slowly changed. His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightened, and his face turned red. The worry faded into growing frustration and anger.

“Did the Grimaldis do something? Did they force you into anything?”

Ah, so it was that – Astrid thought as he looked at Wulfric’s expression. A helpless smile appeared on his lips.

“No such thing happened,” he said. Then a realization struck him. There was a question that he should have asked the moment Wulfric asked him that question. “But how did you know they were here?”

The anger on Wulfric’s face transformed into a sheepish smile, like a little boy caught doing something mischievous. “Ah, as the owner, I receive daily surveillance video recordings of the front of the apartment building. It’s sort of an additional security measure, you know? This way, I can ensure that no dangerous individuals entered the place.” seaʀᴄh thё nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Wulfric emphasized the words ‘security’ and ‘dangerous individuals,’ as if trying to assure Astrid that his actions were purely for safety reasons. However, his phrasing only made it sound more suspicious. Making it seemed like he had a hidden motive on why he was doing that.

Of course, Astrid could immediately see that it’s bull. It was quite obvious that Wulfric was doing it because of him. While it was true that it was for security reasons, it wasn’t for the security of all the residents of the building—just Astrid’s security.

Surprisingly, he didn’t really feel bad about it. Maybe because Wulfric was only monitoring the front of the apartment building. If he put a surveillance camera in his room, or even at the door of his apartment, then Astrid’s reaction would definitely not be the same. Wulfric should prepare for war if he had done something like that. Perhaps the other also knew it. That’s why he didn’t try to do so.

“Ahm, Aster, you’re not mad, right?” Wulfric asked tentatively, looking like a puppy with its ears drooping.

“No. Wulf is doing it for ‘security reasons’. You’re just being a responsible building owner. How could I be mad?” Astrid said in a tone as if he was pacifying a kid.

Wulfric seemed oblivious to that. His sole focus was on the fact that Aster was not angry. If earlier, he resembled a puppy with drooping ears; now, he appeared like a puppy wagging its tail in excitement.

Cute.

If Wulfric could read Astrid’s mind now, his face would probably flush red before smiling happily. After all, it was a compliment from Astrid. Even if it’s a word that didn’t suit him at all, if Astrid said it, then it must be true.

“But why did Thomas and Cassius Grimaldi go to your apartment?” Wulfric asked after he recovered from the relief of knowing that Aster was not angry with his actions. “Was it because they already knew that you and Reas are their nephews?”

He had already assumed that it might be the case. But he was still hoping that there might be another reason for it. Sadly, Aster’s answer quickly dashed that hope.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry! Even though I told you that I will help keep your identity a secret, I wasn’t able to prevent this from happening.”

The other’s sudden apology slightly surprised Astrid. Then he chuckled. “Hey, why are you apologizing? This is not your fault at all. I’ve been told that they did the gene matching test in a private lab owned by the Grimaldi family. Aside from the fact that you couldn’t have tampered with the results, there’s no way you would have known about the test in the first place.”

Wulfric knew that. But still. A promise was a promise. And he wasn’t able to keep it.

Looking at Wulfric’s expression that was still lined with guilt, Astrid added, “To tell you the truth, it was actually my fault.”

Then he began to recount what happened during the photoshoot he did at one of the Grimaldi’s manors. From the unexpected meeting with the duke, to the ‘cupcake incident’, and the part where he talked to Casey and found out that the Grimaldis already knew about him and Reas.

“So, you see, if there’s someone to blame in this situation, it’s me.”

Wulfric listened attentively to everything Aster had said. After the other finished, he finally understood how things had developed into his situation. Should he say that it was one hell of a coincidence?

Out of all the manors that Aster had to do a photoshoot, it really just had to be the manor where Duke Grimaldi was. Of course, this coincidence led to the discovery of Aster’s (and Reas) identity.

Wulfric wanted to say that Aster was not at fault and that it’s better to just blame him. But if he did that, it felt like he was making this whole situation about him when it’s hardly the case. This was about Aster and his family. If he kept insisting that he was at fault, then he would be no different from a narcissist who always wanted to make everything about them.

Especially since there was something better he could say at this moment.

“Aster, is there any way I could help?”