Although Otto hadn't made any moves yet, the mere fact of his existence was enough to continuously exert pressure on Shun and Elena, already proving his true caliber.
"You understand that's all I needed. My greatest fear was that you wouldn't grasp my good intentions." Seeing that Shun truly appeared to understand her concerns, Elena breathed a sigh of relief.
If this matter wasn't handled properly, her daughter's marriage might end up ruined by her own hand as the mother.
Anyone who caught Otto's eye couldn't possibly be mediocre. Even Siegfried had later proven himself truly worthy of marrying Cecilia through his actions.
Shun's displayed calm and unflinching composure in the face of crisis were already more than satisfactory. Compared to Friedrich, who viewed people through colored lenses, Elena was currently very pleased with Shun.
"Mother-in-law, when it comes to Otto, how could I possibly be careless? If what you say is true, then I must consider this much more carefully." Shun indicated that Otto-related matters demanded utmost caution.
Shun was absolutely determined to stay by Ana's side her death flags hadn't been removed yet.
Given that, Shun had no choice but to stand in the open now. Before, it would have been fine he was at most an ordinary male who had survived Honkai. Rare, but not nonexistent.
But the situation was completely different now. He had somehow attained the same level of treatment as the former Kaslana heir.
The rare honor of receiving a personal handwritten letter from Otto 99.99% of people in the world would be terrified just hearing about it.
Many questions now faced Shun: When had Otto started paying attention to him? How much did Otto know? Was Otto's attitude toward him one of elimination like Siegfried's, or mentorship like Joyce's? All these needed clarification.
For now, though, he refocused on the conversation with Mother-in-law Elena.
"Shun, I know this request is excessive, but could you tell me what power do you possess that might pique His Grace the Bishop's curiosity? Rest assured: though the Schariac family has served His Grace loyally for generations, on this matter we would absolutely never betray you."
Shun shook his head to indicate it was fine and said, "Mother-in-law is too polite. If there's anything on me worth Otto's attention, it's probably the Stigmata. Ana knows about this too."
"Stigmata? That would explain it. But Ana knows as well? Could that silly girl have let it slip?" Upon hearing Ana knew, Elena momentarily suspected her own daughter.
If Ana heard this, she'd probably start shedding little tears.
Knowing full well how much effort Ana had put into keeping his secret, Shun naturally wouldn't let anyone casually slander his wife.
He immediately stepped in to explain: "Mother-in-law may not know, but the Stigmata is precisely what connected me and Ana. Ana has gone to great lengths to protect me how could she be the one to leak it? There must be some other hidden reason."
There was no point now in discussing how he had been exposed. What mattered was how to deal with Otto's unpredictable moves.
Thinking this way, his earlier encounter with Rita and Durandal also seemed abnormal now… Thanks to the vast information asymmetry and Otto's eerie oppressive presence, Shun's mindset had completely turned into full paranoia mode.
Otto: Haha, kids, I really didn't do anything.
"Well then, Shun when you're with Ana, be a little careful. Until we figure out His Grace's intentions, don't make any mistakes~"
Elena winked at Shun as if hinting at something.
It took Shun quite a while to realize what "mistake" Elena was referring to. He hadn't even reached first base yet where would he get the chance to make a mistake?
But saying that out loud would be pretty embarrassing, so better not explain… After all, at the stage of discussing marriage, having so few intimate moments was practically a spectacle in itself.
"Yes, I understand, Mother-in-law." Shun replied feebly.
Elena nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Let's go. If we stay here any longer, they'll start getting suspicious. We'll head outside and meet up with the father-daughter pair."
After they came out, Ana who had already finished preparing the room was waiting. As for Shun's respected father-in-law, he still hadn't returned.
The two went up to the second floor to the bedroom Ana had prepared for Shun. As soon as they sat on the bed, Ana couldn't hold back and asked,
"Shun, what did Mom say to you? Did she make things difficult? Otherwise, why wouldn't she let me and Dad listen in?"
Shun thought to himself: If I'd been stuck with your dad, yeah, I might've been in trouble but your mom is actually very satisfied with me.
But the conversation he'd just had with Mother-in-law could only be known to heaven, earth, you, and me he naturally couldn't reveal it to Ana. So he casually told a white lie.
"Nothing much. Mother-in-law just explained why we can't get married right away. Don't worry your mom is still very satisfied with me. She even reminded us not to go making any 'little lives'."
The highest level of lying is using truth to deceive no falsehoods needed. Shun hadn't said a single untrue word.
At first it sounded normal, but when Ana heard the latter part, her little face flushed red. Making little lives? She and Shun hadn't even done that kind of thing.
"Mom really…" At that moment, Ana felt like storming downstairs to argue with her mother. If Shun hadn't held her back, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Sigh, don't— I already promised Mother-in-law not to say anything. Ana, you're making this really hard for me."
"Fine… So what do we do now?" Suddenly idle, Ana genuinely couldn't think of anything to pass the time.
Entertainment in this era wasn't as developed as in Shun's time. Back then, just scrolling short videos could make time fly by unnoticed.
"Then let's go downstairs and find Mother-in-law." Though going back down right after coming up felt a bit crazy, finding entertainment for just the two of them right now really wasn't easy…
People shouldn't… at least wait until nightfall…
In Ana's spacious living room stood a TV over a hundred inches, connected to a PS3 console. Looked like Ana was right her father-in-law really did enjoy gaming.
But Shun definitely wasn't going to mess with someone else's game library. What if he accidentally deleted a save? That would only make the already shaky in-law relationship worse.
So Shun simply turned on the TV and watched some German programs from this era to pass the time.
As dinner time approached, Friedrich still hadn't returned, making one wonder if he'd fallen into the fields.
But the experienced Lady Elena only needed to check one thing to know where Friedrich had gone.
"Shun, could you trouble yourself to go find Friedrich? That fishing fanatic has probably gone off fishing again and come back empty-handed. Bring him back before he runs to the seafood market to buy a fish and pretend he caught it."
So his father-in-law was an angler too Shun was a little surprised.
But facing Elena's clear request to give the two of them some alone time to improve relations, Shun naturally wouldn't refuse. After all, two men could suddenly click over shared brainwaves and become friends it happened often enough.
"Yes, mission accepted." Since this world didn't have that certain failed art student, Shun could safely raise his right hand at 45 degrees even in German territory without issue.
After receiving the mission "Locate the Air Force Father-in-Law," Shun quickly set off.