Once Evan Carter had recovered a bit, Paige Summers decided to have a frank talk with them. No matter who became the New City Lord of Southreach, they probably wouldn’t have a place for them.
That was why they had suffered this calamity.
After exchanging a look, Evan Carter and Norman Ross immediately declared to Paige Summers that they were willing to stay and pledge their loyalty to Bloodfall Base.
Paige Summers readily agreed, making no effort to hide that this was exactly what she had been hoping for.
They looked at one another and smiled.
The young men recovered quickly, not just from their physical wounds, but from the psychological trauma as well.
Besides, they had always admired Paige Summers; it was only their former positions that had prevented them from joining her.
Now that they were no longer the City Lord’s personal guards, they felt much more relaxed.
Full of youthful energy, it didn’t take them long to integrate into the base and get along with everyone.
On the day Marcus Monroe returned, Paige Summers was in high spirits. She was instructing a few of her disciples on weapon crafting, and since some of the new young men were interested, she didn’t mind letting them sit in and listen.
The team member sent to announce Marcus Monroe’s return couldn’t keep up with the man himself.
Seeing Paige Summers surrounded by a crowd again, Marcus Monroe reverted to his old habit, simply scooping her into his arms and walking off.
The others were used to it, but Evan Carter’s men didn’t recognize him. Seeing this bandit-like man carry Paige off without her consent, they scrambled to block his path.
In the end, they were pulled away by the others, but Paige Summers was genuinely exasperated.
’So embarrassing!’
However, when she looked at Marcus Monroe, she lost the desire to scold him or tell him not to do it again. Instead, she couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke his face.
"You’ve lost weight! Did everything go smoothly?"
"It was fine. That can wait. How have you been?"
Paige Summers smiled faintly. "Ms. Lowell—my mom—is here. With her taking care of me, I’m doing great. Mmm, aside from being worried about you."
Marcus Monroe was slightly surprised, but he didn’t have time for details right now.
He carried Paige Summers into the room, placed her on the bed, and immediately started to unbutton her clothes.
Paige Summers pushed his hand away, her face flushing red.
"What are you doing?!"
"What else? To see my son, of course!" Marcus Monroe declared with an air of perfect justification, finishing unbuttoning her clothes as he spoke.
The corner of Paige Summers’ mouth twitched. Fighting the urge to kick him off the bed, she let him press his ear to her stomach, half-annoyed and half-amused. "It’s still the size of a bean sprout. What could you possibly hear?"
Marcus Monroe ignored her. He listened for a long while before lifting his head and asking with a completely serious expression, "I heard a GURGLE... sound. Is that him?"
Paige Summers was dumbfounded. "Are you doing this on purpose?"
"Huh?" Marcus Monroe’s face was a picture of genuine confusion.
Paige Summers was sure she was about to have an aneurysm.
"Forget the fact that he can’t even make noises yet. Even if he could, you wouldn’t be able to hear him. And even if you *could* hear him, it definitely wouldn’t be a GURGLE... sound! He’s a person, not a frog!"
Marcus Monroe looked unconvinced.
Paige Summers stated with a deadpan expression, "The gurgling sound was my stomach. I’m hungry!"
Marcus Monroe froze for a long moment, then his face suddenly turned beet red.
Paige Summers turned her head away, struggling to hold back her laughter.
’This man has absolutely zero common sense when it comes to pregnancy. Good thing he only said that to me; anyone else would’ve died laughing!’
After finally managing to stifle her laughter, she silently took out the "Pregnancy Handbook" Sean Raines had written and handed it over.
Marcus Monroe skimmed through it, then said indignantly, "Why didn’t you give this to me sooner!"
Paige Summers waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, don’t worry. I won’t laugh at you..."
’As if!’
’Hahaha!’
A pregnant woman’s needs are absolute. Being laughed at by her was his own fault for being so ignorant. Marcus Monroe obediently let himself be ordered around, going to fetch the steamed buns his mother-in-law had prepared to satisfy the hunger of his child’s mother.
He took the opportunity to have a big meal himself.
It wasn’t until they were both too stuffed to move that they leaned back against the headboard, side-by-side, to talk.
In his usual concise and direct style, Marcus Monroe gave her a general rundown of what had happened in Southreach.
After he finished, Paige Summers was silent for a long time.
"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Marcus Monroe couldn’t help but turn to look at her, his hand gently stroking her belly as if the baby inside could sense its father’s presence.
Paige Summers gave a faint smile.
"I’m just surprised, that’s all! I never expected Maisie Joyce to be so capable!"
Marcus Monroe chuckled and teased, "Don’t tell me you’re jealous?"
Paige Summers leaned back comfortably against the pillows, a look of pure contentment on her face. "Jealous of what? She’s not as pretty as me, and she’s definitely no match for me in a fight. She just has more people and a bigger territory to manage, which means more headaches! Those characters in Southreach are no pushovers... When I said she’s capable, I was just surprised by the scale of her ambition. Mmm, but to each their own, I suppose. It’s good that she’s the City Lord. At least she’s better than Leo Joyce."
Marcus Monroe couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing her lounging about like a well-fed cat sunning itself, he reached out and tapped her nose. "Listen to you, singing your own praises. Can’t you be a little more modest?"
Paige Summers grabbed his hand and wrinkled her nose. "Why would I be modest with you! And besides, was I wrong?"
Marcus Monroe pulled her into a hug, and they cuddled for a while before he said, "You’re absolutely right..."
Paige said she was surprised about Maisie Joyce, but deep down, she had seen it coming.
She’d known for a while that Maisie Joyce wasn’t the type of woman to just swallow her pride and endure.
But the news about Claire Chapman was something she hadn’t prepared for at all.
"He’s not coming back? Why isn’t he coming back?!"
Marcus Monroe wore a strange expression. "I asked, but he wouldn’t say. I didn’t think it was my place to press him, so I just left our people in the city with him."
Paige Summers fell silent.
’That was true.’ Claire Chapman was her friend. Although he and Marcus Monroe seemed to get along, there was still a certain distance between them. There were things she could ask about freely that would be awkward for Marcus to bring up.
But she didn’t understand.
From what Marcus had said, and based on her own knowledge, Maisie Joyce was a very resourceful person. With Keith Preston’s support, bringing the others into line would be difficult, but it was only a matter of time.
For years, Leo Joyce had maintained his position as City Lord by balancing the various factions against each other.
However, this also created a drawback.
The various factions in Southreach were disunited, with no single group being significantly more powerful than any other.
Maisie Joyce had risen to prominence, able to read the situation clearly, win over allies, and act ruthlessly. Who else but her could claim the title of City Lord?
’If that’s the case, there’s no need for Bloodfall to get involved. So why is Claire so insistent on staying?’
After a long pause, she hesitated. "He’s not... interested in the City Lord’s position, is he...?"
Marcus Monroe laughed. "Does he seem like the type?"
"Not at all!" Paige answered decisively, then added, "Heh! Now if it were *you*, that I could believe!"
Marcus Monroe chuckled. "In the past, I definitely wouldn’t have missed an opportunity like this. But now? Forget it. Too much trouble!"
’If he really became the City Lord of Southreach, where would he find the time to just sit here and chat peacefully with her?’
’He’d be busy enough to kill himself!’
’There’d be little time for anything important, just endless internal reorganizing.’
Gazing at Paige’s face, which had grown softer and paler while she rested, Marcus was lost in thought. ’But things can’t just stay like this.’ It wasn’t enough to just kill all the Zombies at Harborcrest Base; he needed to know where they were coming from. And what was the purpose of those Eldorians in Southreach?
’So many questions...’
’He didn’t want to stir up trouble, but could they really prevent these issues from affecting Bloodfall Base?’
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