Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Hal would have very much loved to remain within his limits as long as he was still in the Dane residence where anyone could see him and possibly get him in trouble with the powerful experts resulting here.

If they wanted to get a lovey-dovey, then it was better they adjourn to the Harem space where they could truly indulge in each other\'s company.

Alas,

Melinda could not care less who saw them and wrapped her arms tight about his neck and would not separate from his lips. 

With her being so enthusiastic, there was no way Hal could avoid getting into it as well but decided to muster up all of his self control and push her back...

... to at the very leadst get a good look at her face.

He had to admit that returning to the Dane residence was obviously showing results. It was nothing close to the benefits gotten from the refining of his essence, but it was enough to doll up Melinda\'s looks.

By doll up, Hal of course did not mean makeup which was something Melinda never used and never needed.

"What, you\'re pushing me back?" Melinda asked and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Maybe another lady in her shoes would be a little melodramatic and worried why her man would be acting so peculiar but Melinda knew him well enough to know exactly why he was acting that way.

"Push you away? I\'d never" Hal said with twitching lips.

"You\'re not?" She asked with a smirk.

"Of course not. How could I possibly?" Hal said and brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.

"Then kiss me" She said and raised her face to him as he was inches taller than she was.

Hal lowered his head to hers and kissed her lips but he did not let it continue for long before he separated.

"Why don\'t we move this reunion of ours to somewhere more private?" He told her with a confident smile that easily marked how much he did not like the situation Melinda was trying to force him into.

However, Melinda was not so easily deterred, 

"No, I think this is good enough. Let\'s do it here" she told him with a moan while squirming into his chest and breathing in his scent.

For a brief second, Hal actually thought she was serious which was made obvious by the slight widening of his eyes which the golden-eyed beauty was quick to catch when she raised her head.

"Ah, I knew it! You\'re scared." She said and separated from him to put some distance between them both and cross her arms below her ample breasts.

Hal narrowed his eyes, 

"You take that back, I am not scared." He retorted.

Melinda covered her mouth lightly and giggled, 

"You are. I can see it in your whole visage Hal. I can\'t believe it. My fiancee, the self-acclaimed rogue who earnestly follows the path of shamelessness is scared." 

There was one other description she wished to add but felt it was better to leave it unsaid because, despite her teasing of Hal, she knew as long as they were on this grounds, they needed to be careful.

Hal stepped closer to her with a light smile, 

"Not scared, cautious. I am being very, very cautious and who could blame me?" He said.

Melinda shook her head in mock disappointment, 

"And here I was thinking you were here to whisk me away. I guess it\'s just my fate to remain locked up in this grounds." She said with a sigh but Hal caught a hint of truth in those words and it caused his expression to instantly change, 

"You\'re locked up?" He asked.

Melinda who had been looking down at the ground suddenly snapped her head up when she noticed the change, 

"No, no, no, you need to play along. You can\'t just break away when I\'m having this much fun." She said with a slight smile which she knew would not be enough to appease him.

She had let it slip and would just have to deal with it.

"You\'re locked up?" Hal repeated his question.

Melinda sighed,

\'Great way to ruin the mood, Mel\' she thought before she answered Hal\'s question.

"Technically yes, but it\'s really not that big a deal. My grandmother thinks it would be best for me to be away from worldly distractions for now. At least until she has gone very in-depth into my education.

Apparently, there are things she wishes to teach me." 

Hal\'s expression did not change, 

"You have to stay here to be taught?" He asked because he felt it was too much of a coincidence that after he left at which point they had mentioned suitors, Isabella decided to stop her granddaughter from leaving.

He did admit to himself that there was the possibility that it was really just about educating her. After all, he could not say he was particularly adept in the ways of the Dane family like the Patroness was bound to be.

Melinda shrugged, 

"I am the wrong person to ask. I\'m the student remember?" 

She had just said this when the space a few meters away from them twisted and produced Isabella who walked over to them with calm but quick steps.

"No, you don\'t have to stay in the house. You also don\'t have to completely away from worldly distractions. That was just a lie I told you." She said with a slight smile. Showing she had overhead, at the very least, the ending of their conversation.

However, if she expected Melinda to break down and ask why, she was disappointed as the golden-eyed beauty simply adopted an expression of \'Of course, you did\'.

Even Hal had a similar expression.

"I admit at the time, I said it so that, should this young man actually turn out to be alive after his abduction, you would not leave to go and find him."

Hal narrowed his eyes but said nothing. There was a smile playing on Isabella\'s lips that were really unsettling for him. Being a Devil, he could tell the intent behind that smile was sly.

That said, when the beautiful grandmother of his fiancee smiled at him, he reciprocated, albeit superficially.

"It\'s good you\'re here. The family can finally hold a meeting. A private one in regards to the relationship between you two" she said.

Melinda groaned, 

"A meeting? Why not just say what it is you have to say right here and now. Hal and I have some catching up to do." She said and grabbed Hal\'s arm.

Hal took her hold with a bright and confident smile while he continued to gaze at Isabella with the aim of at least discovering an inkling of what it was she was planning.

Isabella rolled her eyes with a smile, 

"You have only been apart for three days. Surely you can keep yourself in check until after the meeting." She said.

\'This is weird\' Hal repeated what he had said on his way into the residence.

\'She\'s being supportive. You should be happy\' Grimoire said. 

The artifact could also tell that there was something not quite right about this situation but only felt it was still a win since Isabella\'s supportive expressions were quite true and seemed completely devoid of any shenanigans.

\'Well, that\'s just it. Getting the support of someone like her could prove as dangerous and risky as it could prove helpful.\'

...

True to her word, the meeting was quite private and only contained immediate family members. Damien and his wife were present, so was Hugh (shouldn\'t he be more focussed on his cultivation and training?) and of course, Devon who was quite calm.

Isabella took the seat of highest importance as the oldest and most powerful in the family. Then she did not beat around the bush and said,

"I believe it is high time we put whatever feelings we have about Hal aside because he is Melinda\'s fiance and I do not see that changing for the foreseeable future."