Team villains except me

Dooku awoke to the sound of a soft flute outside.

He was stunned for a while, then walked out slowly.

The living room is spacious and sunny.

Dooku belatedly picked up his homemade communicator and saw the message his teammates sent him.

Gilan came out after hearing the noise. He asked Dooku if he was hungry and why he got up now and why he didn't sleep a little longer.

"Yes. The sound of a flute."

Dooku answered obediently, pointing to the open window of the living room.

Gillan quickly realized what it was.

"It's the honeyeater. Its call is like a flute."

Gilan's communicator buzzed, but he made Dooku a cup of hot cocoa before pulling out the communicator to read the new message.

It was sent by Matthias.

Gilan asked Dooku.

"Dooku, can we go eat O'Neill's specials at noon?"

Dooku nodded.

He quickly finished his cup of hot cocoa and asked Gillan when they would leave.

“That restaurant is close to home, we are not in a hurry.”

Dooku still nodded.

Dooku rarely communicated with others before. No one wanted to waste time listening to his poor common language. Later, when he had his teammates, he could talk to anyone he wanted, but he didn't have to bear the responsibility of exchanging pleasantries with outsiders.

He was well protected by his teammates.

So he didn't know what was the "best" thing to do. He just nodded and didn't reject Gillan's kindness.

The sound of the flute was short, and the sound of flapping wings floated in from the window, announcing the departure of the honeyeater.

In such quiet sunshine, the huge house always forces people to recall the lively memories of the past.

Gilan looked at Dooku who was in a daze and recalled the conversation between the two cubs he heard last night.

Gillan knew his daughters. He knew that Natalie saw something of herself in Dooku—Natalie hated Dooku the least.

He knew Natalie's stubbornness. As a father, he certainly wanted to protect his daughter, but protection and respect were in conflict. He broke down all the possible futures and told them to Natalie, letting her make her own choice.

Natalie took the roughest path.

Gillan knew that Natalie's choice would make her suffer, and that was definitely not the best way for Natalie...but he couldn't change Natalie's choice.

The decision made many years ago affects the present, and he cannot change the past.

"Dooku, I'm so sorry."

"Why."

Dooku looked at Gilan blankly, not knowing why Gilan said that.

"Because of Natalie."

Dooku thought about Natalie. Last night's conversation became clearer, but Dooku didn't find anything in the conversation that required Gillan to apologize.

"Natalie. What's wrong?"

"Natalie's words were too harsh. She..."

Gillan didn't know where to begin.

Dooku looked at Gilan quietly, waiting for him to calm down.

Dooku knew Gillan needed to say something to clear his mind, just like Natalie did. Dooku knew Gillan needed him.

This seemed amazing to Dooku.

For Dooku, an authority like Gilan would never show any weakness, and naturally he would not be needed. But Gilan needed him now. Gilan respected him and trusted him.

The motionless black shadow in his memory suddenly shook, making a crackling sound, like the sound of seeds sprouting from the soil.

Dooku shook his head in confusion. The little puppet on his shoulder repeated his movements.

Gilan noticed this, and he gently asked Dooku if the bed was not soft enough or the pillows were too high or too low.

Dooku shook his head, but Gilan still walked to Dooku's room worriedly. Gilan did not open the door and walked in directly, but knocked on the door carefully in front of Dooku.

Dooku tilted his head.

"Please...come in?"

"Thank you."

Gilan walked into the room where Dooku was staying, and after obtaining Dooku's permission, Gilan fluffed the square soft pillow on the bed and then carefully re-made the bed.

Dooku wanted to help, but Gilan gently refused.

"When I was at home or in a hotel, I was responsible for making the bed. When Mattia went to school, she called me and asked me how I could make the bed so well..."

Gilan was still saying something, but Dooku could no longer hear it.

In his eyes, Gillan was slowly becoming like his grandfather. He had never expected a grandfather to be like him. There was no moral system in the abyss, and everything was taken for granted.

His grandfather was also his master. The two identities merged together, as if it were supposed to be.

But outside the abyss, things seemed to become strange. A strange world, strict rules, different races. He didn't know what kindness was. Human emotions were too complicated, like a universal language that he could never learn.

Only malice is kind. Exploitation, scolding, indifference, pain... these are what he is familiar with.

But what he is more familiar with now is warm kindness and unreserved love.

Gillan, with gray hair, bent over and smoothed the wrinkles on the bed with his rough hands, chattering about the little things in life, as if he was also a child of this family.

If. If—if he really had a grandfather, he would probably look like Gillan.

Just not Gillan.

Dooku looked up, stepped forward and shook Gilan's arm.

"…Natalie. What's wrong?"

This was Dooku's response to Gilan's clumsiness.

He couldn't say anything to persuade her, nor did he care about Natalie in particular, but he was willing to take on Gillan's repressed emotions.

Gilan understood why Dooku suddenly acted like this. Dooku's behavior was like Natalie's when she first came to the house. Because she was not used to the kindness and intimacy, she paid for this abnormality with sensible behavior.

Gilan hoped that all cubs would be willful. But he saw no willfulness in Dooku.

Gilan did not immediately mention Natalie as Dooku expected, nor did he stop what he was doing. He just made the bed and went out to get a set of white copper tools.

Dooku, who was in the room, only heard the sound of chiseling the door. He didn't know what Gilan was doing, but he listened to Gilan. Gilan asked him to stay in the room for a while.

When the chiseling sound stopped, Gilan asked him to come out and take a look in a relaxed tone.

Dooku pursed his lips and walked out. He saw the words Gilan had carved on the door.

Dooku's Room

Gilan looked at Dooku.

"Xiaoya, treat this place as your own home. You don't have to do anything for me. This is not an exchange. Your presence is enough to make me happy.

Xiaoya, from now on, this room belongs completely to you, you can come back anytime."

Dooku lost his language. He didn't know why he couldn't speak the Common Tongue. He struggled to say thank you, but the words mutated into the Abyssal Tongue "Grandfather".

Gilan didn't understand. But just like art knows no borders, although he couldn't understand Dooku's language, he could see clearly what kind of expectation was contained in Dooku's purple eyes.

So he agreed straightforwardly.

In the face of Dooku's stiff expression, Gilan spoke naturally.

"I made some bread pudding this morning, Dooku, would you mind eating some now?"

Dooku shook his head.

Gilan asked Dooku to sit at the dining table and took out the bread pudding prepared for Dooku.

Dooku paused for a long time as he picked up the fork. He didn't know what level of movement would break the dream.

——Yes, he thought he hadn't woken up yet.

The miracles he was used to were always accompanied by the presence of his teammates. Now that his teammates were gone, he encountered something almost exactly like what he expected, and he thought it was impossible to happen.

He put down his fork, and asked Gillan again, hoping to continue the dream.

"Natalie. What's wrong?"

Dooku insisted that Gilan tell him about his troubled emotions. No matter how much Gilan persuaded him, Dooku refused to lift his fork to eat a piece of bread pudding.

Jilan gave up helplessly. He sighed slightly and didn't know where to start.

"Natalie...she was chosen by the ancestors of the tiger tribe."

Gillan was silent for a while, then told the story of Natalie's life.

"Natalie was born with the blessing of the Tiger Clan's ancestors. Our ancestors predicted that Natalie would be the new glory of the Tiger Clan.

Glory - The highest honor for the orcs is to become a beast warrior, but the tiger tribe has not had a beast warrior for many years.

But for the Weiss family and the Pastro family, what matters is not the glory of the tiger clan, but who this glory belongs to. Natalie is an orange tiger, so the Pastro family wants to give Natalie the best educational resources, while the Weiss family, representing the white tiger, wants to end Natalie's future...

After Natalie showed her extraordinary talent, the struggle between the two families intensified. Natalie's parents died in this chaos.

Natalie is smart, she knows which family wants to use her, so she chose us."

Gillan's expression turned bitter.

"This world is unfair. Some cubs are born geniuses. Natalie is one of them.

Even without systematic training, she still did well. Even before Matija became a Beast Warrior, Natalie was able to defeat Matija.

But Natalie knew that if she stood out too much, she would cause a fight. She knew everything, her presence was a weapon, and she hated war.

However, Molga and I can protect a cub who has lost his family, but we cannot protect a beast warrior who has no blood relationship with us.

Because there is no blood relationship, the two families can manipulate too much. If Natalie really becomes a beast warrior, they will not give up, and the entire Titag will fall apart and fall into endless war.

Natalie knew this. She stopped studying, she forced herself to forget, she deliberately abandoned her talent, she hid her dream of becoming a beast warrior, gave the opportunity to become a beast warrior to Matija, and gave up her future.

"Why? Give it to Teacher Matija?"

Dooku didn't know much about the selection process for the Beast Warriors. He didn't think there was any necessary connection between Natalie giving up on becoming a Beast Warrior and teacher Matija becoming a Beast Warrior.

"Dooku, there have always been very few tiger warriors. Do you know why?"

Dooku shook his head.

He did not know about the Atavism. He only knew the history and customs of the Gray Wolf Clan.

Gillan looked out the window. His voice was a little vague.

"Because the last invisible test to become a beast warrior is to obtain the blessing of the beast god. We tigers do not believe in the beast god, but only in our tiger ancestors."

"The quota for the Tiger Beast Warrior was brought by Natalie's birth. The Beast God tacitly agreed to the prophecy of the Tiger Clan's ancestors."

"Natalie and Matija were tied for first place on the candidate list, and Natalie should have been the Beast Warrior. But Natalie refused.

At that time, the two families of Titig were already prepared. They wanted to start a war the moment Natalie became a beast warrior—"

Gillan felt he owed his two daughters, especially Natalie, a lot.

He still remembered the intense emotions he felt when Natalie refused to become a Beast Warrior.

He knew that the two families that were always fighting would not start a war, and peace would continue. He knew that Natalie had completely given up her future. At the same time, he knew that his eldest daughter, Matija, would be the new Beast Warrior.

All this was built on Natalie's sacrifice, and Natalie was also his beloved daughter.

Gillan cried bitterly at that time, he felt that he was not strong enough, he felt that he did not give Natalie the right to choose freely. But Natalie patted his shoulder and looked at him straight.

"Gilan, this is my choice, not yours. It's no big deal. Matija and I are the same. You and Morgha are Matija's parents, and also my parents, so if Matija becomes a Beast Warrior, then I will also be a Beast Warrior.

It's a simple conversion. Stop crying.

Peace remains and war has not broken out. This is a very good result.”

Natalie said this and endured everything.

Gilan thought sadly about the past, while Dooku tilted his head and spoke slowly.

"Mattia. Teacher. Does she...know?"

Dooku tried to understand Gilan's story, but he felt something was wrong, so he asked questions.

Gillan shook his head.

"The prophecy of the tiger ancestors and Natalie's special characteristics are not disclosed to the public, including the list of candidates for the tiger warriors. Natalie does not allow us to tell Matija about this."

"Why? If you do it, you have to tell me."

Dooku didn't understand Natalie's choice. If he had done something important for his teammates, he would have said it.

He vaguely felt that if Teacher Mattia knew all this, their relationship would probably not be as strained as it is now.

"Dooku, Natalie knows Matija, and Natalie knows that Matija will feel guilty.

But she doesn't want Mattia to feel guilty about her. Guilt is not love, and Natalie wants Mattia to truly love her."

Dooku didn't understand. He remembered what Natalie said last night. He didn't understand, since Natalie liked Teacher Matija and had given so much to her... why was it like this now? Why, Natalie, was still jealous of Teacher Matija?

"No one is perfect, Bud. Everyone has had moments of greatness, but no one can maintain the strict integrity that greatness requires all the time."

Gilan knew that Dooku didn't quite understand. He didn't explain further, but thanked Dooku gently and asked if Dooku could try the bread pudding he had made that morning.

Dooku clenched his fork. He wanted to say "no," because he thought this was a declaration that the dream was over—but he didn't want to refuse Gilan.

There was a sudden noise outside.

Gillan remembered something.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Xiaoya, do you want to go out and grab some ribbons? The street in front of our house represents 'luck'..."

Dooku listened in a daze as Gilan talked about the traditions of the Festival of Light, and he slowly realized something.

He didn't seem to be dreaming.

He didn't expect to grab the ribbon.

So, the honeyeater that made the flute sound was real, the room that belonged to him was real, and those things he couldn't understand about the past of Natalie and teacher Mattia were real.

...Mr. Gillan, who responded to his call of "grandfather", was also real.

"Xiaoya, I'm going to buy some streamer cannons. We're going to go grab some streamers and play with them later, okay?"

"……it is good."

Dooku responded, finally picking up his fork and eating a piece of delicious bread pudding.