Stronger Every Time I Die
In her dream, Nina had seen Grandpa and Arthur hugging. After that, Arthur became her brother. Benjamin chuckled and nodded. “That’s right! Nina, come here, let Grandpa introduce you properly.” He gently guided Nina to stand in front of Arthur. Motioning toward him, Benjamin said warmly, “This is my grandson—your brother, Arthur.” Then he turned to Arthur and gestured toward Nina. “And this is your aunt’s daughter—your little sister, Nina.” The solemn way he said it was something he’d just picked up from Arthur moments ago. And he agreed with it—people you care about deserve to be taken seriously. Nina grinned like a delighted child and skipped over to Arthur, holding out the candy in her hands. “Arthur, have some candy!” Her voice was sweet as sugar. She didn’t wait for him to agree—just shoved a quarter of her candy right into his hands. Then she turned around and did the same to Ashley. “Ashley, you have to try this one! It’s so good!” Her voice was so soft and sweet, it made people want to pat her on the head. And Ashley did exactly that. She gently stroked Nina’s hair, about to politely decline—but before she could, Nina had already stuffed the candy into her arms. “Come on, take it! You have to try it!” Ashley couldn’t say no to that eager little face. She accepted the candy with a helpless smile. Then Nina skipped over to Benjamin and handed him another quarter of her candy. “Grandpa, you have to have some too!” Her smile was so innocent and bright, she looked like pure childhood joy.Benjamin laughed. “Oh, I get some too?” Nina nodded with great seriousness. “Of course! It’s so yummy—I want all the people I love to try it!” Hearing that, Arthur crouched down to meet her eyes. “Oh? So that means Nina loves Arthur too?” Nina turned to him and nodded solemnly. “Of course I do! I like you!” Then she gave Ashley a sneaky glance and quickly added, “But I like Ashley more.” “Pfft!” Everyone burst out laughing at her adorable honesty. Arthur’s face darkened a bit. Fine, he thought. His little wifey was charming enough to steal hearts, after all. Not that he actually minded. He’d only said it earlier to lighten the mood anyway. Before long, the day of the evaluation arrived. Arthur had politely turned down Benjamin’s offer to skip the test and be named heir outright—he wanted to earn his place. He believed that when the time came for him to take over, it would mean more if he had proven himself first. Arthur and Ashley got up early and made their way to the testing grounds. So far, Arthur being Benjamin’s grandson was still a secret. They’d agreed that once the evaluation was over, Benjamin would host a formal banquet and publicly announce Arthur’s identity within Heaven’s Cult. To the outside world, Arthur would still be Arthur. No one outside even knew where Heaven’s Cult was located—let alone who ran it. There was no reason to reveal Arthur’s role beyond the organization. An internal announcement would be more than enough. The test itself was surprisingly simple.It wasn’t about money or power—but about character and intelligence. The vast hall held several evaluators, but Arthur was the only one being tested. Drake, the Governor, was the chief evaluator for the day. In truth, after everything that had happened two days earlier, everyone already treated Arthur as a member of Heaven’s Cult. But protocol was protocol. The ceremony had to be observed. Arthur didn’t slack off. He completed the tasks meticulously, following the instructions exactly. And the result? Much smoother than he ever expected. He was stunned. Wait, that’s it? No deliberation? No challenges? He’d spent so long preparing for this test—reading through materials, studying—only for it to be over so quickly? All that effort… for this? That was it? Just like that, I passed?! In the distance, Benjamin watched everything unfold with a huge grin. He couldn’t help but feel even more fond of Drake. The man had a sharp eye—just as Benjamin had hoped. As soon as Benjamin had returned, he’d heard about the situation between Arthur and President Holland. And he could guess that Drake had probably already spoken to the evaluators ahead of time. And so, just like that—looking completely dazed—Arthur officially became a member of Heaven’s Cult.
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