Who told him to rush up there?.

Chapter 178 Father-in-law
“Alyssa, brother is here to play with you.”

Eli quickly found the depressed Alyssa. At that time, she was being guarded and couldn't go anywhere. When she was so bored, she heard her brother calling her, and she was so happy that her tail began to wag.

“You guys go and do your work, I’ll take care of Alyssa.”

Waving his hand to let the people guarding Alyssa retreat, Eli walked over and patted Alyssa's thigh, preparing to take it to a place with fewer people to play.

But before the man and the dragon could take action, someone noticed Eli.

In fact, most guests did not dare to get close to Eli, after all, there was a gap in status. But there were always one or two people who were not only not afraid of Eli, but even wanted to teach him a lesson.

"Eli, come with me."

The person who was speaking was a middle-aged man, who was a little overweight. But judging from his appearance and temperament, he must have been a handsome man when he was young. Even if he was a little inferior to Eli, he could still charm a group of girls.

William, who was standing next to the middle-aged man, looked embarrassed. Eli is no longer the same as before. If his father still treats him like this, isn't that good?
"Uncle Black, what do you want from me?"

Eli did not resist the middle-aged man's call and walked to his side obediently.

No matter what, this man is Gabriella's father and one of her future father-in-laws. Even if she doesn't have to be respectful to him, she should at least give him some respect.

What's more, not only in this life, but also in the previous life, this man was his father-in-law. If a son-in-law is considered half a son, then in these two lives combined, this Duke Black is completely on the same level as Duke Bruno.

"What's wrong with you? You've been getting together with Princess Lina without telling anyone. What about my Sissi? Is she going to be your mistress?"

Duke Black blew his beard and glared, his words full of dissatisfaction. Although he admitted that Princess Lina was better than his daughter, his daughter came first, more than ten years earlier. How come she fell behind now!
When the old emperor led his people out of the city to welcome Eli and hold a banquet in the palace, Duke Black was not in the imperial capital due to some matters, so he was unable to witness with his own eyes the scene of His Majesty the Emperor granting Eli marriage. He had just finished his work outside and rushed home last night, when he heard his wife say that she would attend Eli's engagement party tomorrow.

At first he thought that it was Eli who proposed marriage to his family, and the lady of the family agreed in a daze while he was away. But then he heard that the person Eli was engaged to was Princess Lina, and Duke Black was almost angry to death.

My goodness, you have been coming to my house all the time for the past decade, and have been flirting with my daughter openly and secretly. Now you are getting engaged, but your engagement partner is someone else. This cannot be tolerated by your aunt, but neither can your uncle.

If the object of the marriage theft was not Princess Lina, Duke Black would have even wanted to pay her a visit and have a good talk. But that person was Princess Lina. In this imperial capital, he could offend anyone. Even if he offended His Majesty the Emperor, he could afford to offend him. But if he provoked Princess Lina, the old father in the palace would definitely teach him why the flowers were so red.

Now, for the sake of face, their family came to attend the engagement ceremony of Eli and Princess Lina as honestly as possible. Now that the ceremony is over, they happened to run into little Eli who was alone. Shouldn't they scold him?
Humph, I can't afford to offend Princess Lina, but I still dare to touch you, Eli. Even though you are a powerful saint now and may become a high and mighty lord in the future, as long as you still dare to think about my daughter, you will always be a junior in front of me!

"Who can say for sure about love? Princess Lina and I met on a battlefield thousands of miles away, and we fell in love with each other, so it was natural for us to get together."

Eli first told a story about himself and Princess Lina, but when Duke Black's expression did not change, he continued.

"But the relationship between Sissi and I has grown closer step by step since we were young. That is true love. Now I am engaged to Princess Lina, but I will never ignore Sissi. I will still treat her well for the rest of my life..."

After Eli finished speaking, Duke Black was still puffing his beard and glaring. Obviously, if he took good care of himself and lost a little weight, he could still be a handsome old man, but Eli remembered that his father-in-law in the previous life had maintained this image until he was old.

"You're already engaged to Princess Lina, how can you bring happiness to my Sissi? Do you think you'll treat her well? You can't even be your legal wife. If Sissi enters your house again, I don't know how she'll be bullied!"

Duke Black's dissatisfaction was well-founded. He had long known that there were other women around Eli. On the surface, there were Jessica and Cecilia who often played with Sissi. Given the character of a great noble family, no one could tell how many other women were hidden behind the scenes.

If Sissi entered the Bruno family as the main wife, then at least her status and position there would be guaranteed. No matter how many women Eli had, the children born by Sissi would be the legitimate sons and daughters, and could inherit the title and everything of the Bruno family.

But now Eli is engaged to Princess Lina. Even if Sissi is also engaged to Eli or even married soon after, can she compete with Princess Lina for the position of legal wife?
Even if Eli had the intention, the Black family wouldn't dare to accept it. Would he want to compete with Princess Lina for status?
Even though the old emperor is very old now, he also fought in the battlefield when he was young. Although he has only killed a few demons with his own hands, he is a monarch who has seen blood and his hand is definitely not soft.

"My women are not divided into legal wives or non-legal wives. Princess Lina is the same as Sissi when she comes in. She is not higher than her by a single hair. I have the final say on this matter. Even if the emperor comes, it won't work."

After hearing what his father-in-law said in two lives, Eli naturally knew what he was thinking, so he patted his chest and assured him that he was speaking the truth, they were all his women, how could he classify them into different levels.

"you sure?"

Duke Black was obviously a little skeptical. Although theocracy was supreme in this world, the imperial power was also important. How could Eli, who was so young, dare to disobey the emperor? How could he have such a bright future?
Well, I forgot that this guy has the potential to become a god. Since theocracy is supreme, he will indeed be greater than the emperor in the future...

"I am very sure. If you don't believe me, we will go to the Emperor and explain it to him..."

"That's not necessary!"

Eli was just talking when Duke Black interrupted him. He said that it was OK to talk about these things in private, but he should not really go there. He was afraid that if he went there, Eli would be fine, but he would be in trouble...

"Just assume that I believe you. I have seen what happened between you and Sissi for so many years. I know you have a good relationship, and I don't think I can break you up. Now that you and Princess Lina are engaged, it's a fact. I'll wait for you to come to my house to propose marriage in a while. I don't ask you to do it as gloriously as you did today, but you can't just get away with it."

Although Duke Black was very angry, as he said, he knew that he could not break up his daughter and Eli's relationship of more than ten years. Now that she has lost her position as the first wife, she might as well strive to become the second. It is impossible for the daughter of a duke to fall behind the daughter-in-law raised by the Bruno family, right? "That's for sure. I will come to your house in a few days to arrange the marriage. Sissi has been with me for more than ten years, and I will not treat her badly."

Eli nodded rapidly. After all, Jessica was one of his wives in his previous life and one of the few women in this life that he wanted to marry without any other purpose. How could he not value her?
"There's no need to be so anxious. You just got engaged to Princess Lina. You have to wait until the hype has died down before you come back..."

This was the second time that Duke Black had stopped Eli today. This prospective son-in-law seemed good in every way except that he was a little rash in his dealings with others. How could he go to their house to propose marriage just a few days after getting engaged to Princess Lina? Doesn't it seem that the Black family is eager to compete with Princess Lina?

"Then...I'll come again next month?"

Eli asked tentatively.

"can."

Today is only May 8th, and there are still more than twenty days until next month. By then, the hot topic of Princess Lina's engagement should have passed. More than twenty days is not a very long time, so it should not be possible for someone else to get ahead of her.

Eli heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that his future father-in-law had decided this matter personally. Although he already knew that his father-in-law was satisfied with him and that he had been called over for a lecture just to give him some pointers, after all, he was born again and his relationship with Caroline and his father-in-law was very different from that of his previous life. Who knew if something would go wrong?

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Princess Lina accepted it, and Garcia did not slip away. Everyone was happy.

"Then I'll take my leave first. Alyssa is so depressed today. I'll go take a walk."

After dealing with Duke Black's questioning, Alyssa was getting impatient and Eli quickly said goodbye. Duke Black nodded and let him go.

After Eli rumbled away with the happy baby dragon, William, who had been holding back a word, finally came forward and whispered a few words to his father.

"Elai is already engaged to Princess Lina, why are we marrying our sister to him? There are many women in his family..."

He didn't dare to say it when Eli was around, and only after Eli left did William dare to whisper to Duke Black in private. Caroline was his biological sister, and the two siblings had a very good relationship as they grew up together. He was really reluctant to let his sister marry a philandering man, although he himself was not a loyal man.

"Hey...if it was the Eli of a year ago, if he had been engaged to someone first, I would never give my daughter to him no matter what. But the Eli of now...I am reluctant to give her to him, but can I not give her to him?"

In response to his son's question, Duke Black sighed as he looked at Eli's receding back, then spoke in a calm tone.

Even though he was full of energy to blame Eli just now, it was because he had watched Eli grow up and understood his character. He knew that he had to respect him for Cassia, but that was only if he could marry Cassia.

Once he really refuses to marry his daughter to him, Eli, whose character has nothing to do with weakness, will let him see how reckless he is. Things are different now. The former little boy has grown into a pillar of the empire, a powerful saint, a future venerable or even a god. Does he really dare to offend him?

No, it is her blessing that Eli likes Gabriella. Look at the faces of the other nobles at the engagement ceremony today. They wish it was their own daughters who took the oath and exchanged rings with Eli on the stage. With Eli's future, who wouldn't want to be with him?
Not to mention formally proposing to her, even if they secretly gave Eli a beautiful daughter or granddaughter as a concubine... no, they would be willing even if it was a woman without any official status. Who wouldn't want to become a relative of the Divine Blood nobles in the future?

"The current Eli... I really didn't expect him to become so powerful. It's not a loss for Jia Xiya to marry him, but I just think it's a pity. It would have been better if the marriage had been arranged half a year earlier."

William was still muttering to himself. He had clearly stopped Eli and Gabriella from getting close to each other, but now he regretted it, but it was too late.

"Don't feel too bad. Even if Gabriella was engaged to Eli first and Princess Lina came later, can our family just shout the slogan of first come, first served and compete with Princess Lina for the position of the legal wife?"

Duke Black shook his head at his son's little grumble, thinking that he was still too naive. With Princess Lina's status in the Dawn Empire, whoever came first could snatch it from her? What a joke, is His Majesty the Emperor dead?
Just now, he used the matter of the legal wife to question Eli, which was just a warning to him, to let him know that Cassia suffered a loss, so that he would feel a little guilty and treat Cassia better in the future. Could he really want the position of legal wife? Who was Princess Lina? Did he still want to live?
"Anyway, you are the one who has the final say in the family. Since you have agreed, what else can I do? I just hope to be related to Eli so that I can enjoy great fortune in the future. Eh..."

William still didn't stop muttering, but this time Duke Black pulled him away before he could finish.

If you compare yourself with others, you will die; if you compare goods with others, you will throw them away. Look at other people's sons and then look at his own son. At the age of twenty, other people's sons are already powerful men who dominate the continent, while his son is only two years older and is still relying on nepotism to get benefits.

No, this son seems useless, and my daughter has found a good home. It seems like it’s time to have another one. I can’t let the Black family be left without a successor…

Duke Black took William away, while Eli took Alyssa to an empty space. He took out a huge cat toy... no, a dragon toy, and made the lively Alyssa run around in circles.

At times like this, only teasing Alyssa can make him feel happier. This is the advantage of keeping a pet. After all, it is very expensive to raise a dragon, so the cost must be worthwhile.

"Ow~"

Alyssa chased the dragon-teasing stick happily. Every time she fiddled with the tassel and bell of the dragon-teasing stick, it would roar with joy. Baby dragons are the most carefree. They don’t have to worry about anything every day. They have food, water and fun.

Eli hopes that his happiness can last forever, but the prerequisite is to completely destroy the demons, otherwise everything will be in vain after thirty years.

(End of this chapter)