Chapter 188: Toxic Love

"I wonder why I even used you as an example," Julian groaned, rubbing his temples.

"It’s true, I’m a bad example," Jasper admitted with disconcerting frankness. "I’ve never felt attachment or love for anything, except my bow."

"But you still got engaged to the daughter of the Aqua clan patriarch?" Kaiser asked, curious despite himself.

"It’s a political arrangement. Besides, she doesn’t bother me. She’s beautiful, she’s not annoying, and she likes archery. For me, that’s enough."

"Hmm..." Kaiser nodded. "It’s still a form of love, right? A bit basic, but it holds up."

"Where do you see love in that?" Julian shot back, exasperated. "The guy’s just a psychopath."

"Anyway. Back to your problems... What exactly is going on with Norah?" Kaiser crossed his arms, after all, he had to coach his stepson. Something that would stab Julian to death if he ever found out.

Julian took a deep breath, fists clenched on the table. "That bitch cheated on me."

"Pff... Ahahahaha!" Kaiser couldn’t hold back the laugh.

Jasper, meanwhile, commented without lifting his head from his plate: "You just tasted your own medicine. You were making such a drama that I thought she’d stolen your sword." For Jasper, nothing could be worse than losing his weapon.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Julian grumbled, red with anger and humiliation. "Your turn will come, Kaiser."

"Nah... sorry," Kaiser said, trying to contain his hilarity. "I didn’t mean to laugh. But it’s too funny, man. You were playing playboy, a girl caught you, you discovered forbidden bedroom techniques with her, you went crazy in love, and now you’re surprised she’s looking elsewhere? Logic, brother."

Julian glared at him. "What the hell does that gibberish even mean?"

Jasper intervened in his monotone voice, as relevant and icy as ever: "You kept bragging about her ’techniques.’ She must have learned them somewhere, then perfected them with... let’s say, a hundred different hookups? Basic logic."

"You!" Julian exclaimed, ready to jump up.

"Hmm..." Kaiser added mischievously. "I’d say more like a body count of two hundred. What do you think, Julian? Reasonable estimate?"

"You sons of bitches! I’m gonna fuck you both up!" Julian’s aura suddenly exploded, a pressure that made the surrounding tables vibrate. He stared at Kaiser, who was laughing even harder, and at Jasper, whose faint smirk was even more irritating than his usual impassivity.

"Calm down, calm down, man!" Kaiser raised his hands, still amused. "We’re just messing with you a little, that’s all. Between bros."

"I came to you for advice, to know what to do! And you guys are just laughing?" Julian protested, his aura dropping as quickly as it had risen, replaced by frustration.

"Yeah, yeah," Kaiser conceded, calming down. "But seriously, man, you can’t really blame her for much. At the very beginning of your relationship, you were cheating on her too."

Julian lowered his head. "Sure. But I stopped. For her... I haven’t looked at anyone else since."

Kaiser patted his friend’s shoulder in a slightly awkward gesture. "Then go see her and clear things up. Tell her you don’t want an open relationship, that you want something serious and exclusive. If she doesn’t agree... well, move on."

"It’s easier said than done," Julian murmured. "I don’t even know what I’d do if she chose to break up."

"Or," Kaiser suggested with a sly little smile, "when you’re with her, keep talking about your exes. If she’s genuinely interested in you, it’ll probably annoy her to be put in competition with other women. It’s a subtle way to push her to want to be the only one, without seeming like you’re forcing her. A little manipulation."

"Manipulation? Bro, I’m too lazy to play schemer on my own dates," Julian sighed, exhausted.

That was when Jasper set his burger down. His expression perfectly serious.

"I have a better idea."

They turned toward him.

"Hmm?"

"Why not just kill her?" Jasper suggested.

An icy silence fell over the table.

"Huh?" Julian said, dumbfounded.

"Dude... that’s..." Kaiser stammered.

Jasper continued: "Then you keep her body on ice. In an ice coffin, for example. That way, she’s yours forever, and she can’t see anyone else. It solves the problem permanently, right?"

Kaiser frowned. "I hope that’s a joke, Jasper..." But as he studied the archer’s perfectly impassive face, he realized the other man wasn’t joking at all.

"See what I told you?" Julian turned to Kaiser, pale. "The guy really is a psychopath. What the hell was I thinking, discussing feelings with two complete nutjobs?"

He stood up, shoving his chair back; it scraped across the tiled floor. "I’m just gonna go see her. Tell her what I really feel, deep down. Without manipulating her, and definitely without... killing her." He shot Jasper a dark look.

Jasper gave a slight shrug and picked up a fry. "It was still the most logical choice if you wanted to keep her exclusively. Idiot. We could even have helped you with the killing part. It’s faster with multiple people."

"Nah, personally, I wouldn’t have killed anyone," Kaiser declared, raising his hands in objection while letting out a small laugh, still not believing Jasper had actually suggested something like that.

He stood up too and gave Julian a friendly slap on the back. "Courage, man. The important thing is that you’re going to tell her exactly how you feel. If she really loves you, she’ll obviously understand your point of view."

Julian nodded, his mind already elsewhere, focused on the confrontation to come.

In the novel, Jasper was described as a cold man, devoid of real emotional bonds, capable of killing without the slightest remorse. Kaiser had to admit that reality exceeded the description. The guy was genuinely a psychopath. That said, it didn’t change much about their relationship. After all, he himself wasn’t completely sane given his many morally reprehensible actions.

"All we need now is for Julian to have a psychotic break... and we’d be a perfect example of the dark triad."