Chapter 6

Finlay replied, "Alright, then." Once they stepped inside the house, Scott led Analise upstairs to the room he had prepared for her. As he casually brushed a lock of his hair, he said, "Ms. Chamber, take a look and see if you like it. If not, I'll have someone redecorate it right away." Analise walked in and looked around the room. It was clearly the main bedroom on the second floor—spacious, bright, and with a perfect view of the lake across the way, which she figured must be the one Finlay had mentioned earlier. The trees around the water were already blooming with soft pink and white flowers. The setup of the room was cozy and pleasant, but maybe just a little too pink—pink bedding, pink curtains, pink slippers, pink clothes, pink cushions. Basically, if it could be pink, it was pink. Thankfully, the desk and wardrobe had been spared. Analise blinked a few times, hesitated, then gave a small smile. "It's nice. I really like it." "Scott, did you set up a room for me, too? I'm also Ms. Chamber's guardian, so of course, I need to stay close and take care of her," Finlay's voice suddenly came from the hallway as he peeked into the room. "Oh, and Ms. Chamber," he added quickly, glancing shyly to the side, ears turning red as he held out a small bouquet of wildflowers. "I saw these blooming on the hill behind the house. Most females really like flowers, so I thought... maybe you'd like them, too." At first, Analise was surprised. Then, she smiled warmly, reaching out to accept the bouquet and gently sniffing it. "Thank you, Finlay. I really do like them." And that smile was completely genuine. She never imagined the first time a guy would give her flowers would be like this—so unexpected but sweet. The bouquet was a mix of soft colors—pinks, blues, pale yellows, and whites—all different shapes and sizes. The scent was light and fresh, and despite the variety, none of the flowers were overpowering. It was just a calming, gentle kind of fragrance that instantly lifted her mood. "I'm glad you like them," Finlay said with a shy grin, scratching at his ear as his tail wagged furiously. "There are plenty of rooms in the house. Just pick one and make yourself at home," Scott said quietly, his gaze locked on the bouquet in Analise's arms and Finlay's ridiculous wagging tail. Watching her smile like that while holding those flowers made something in Scott twist, and he cursed himself for not thinking of it first. He could have picked some fresh flowers, too, and left them in her room, but he had not. "Alright. Go pick your room," Scott said, forcing a calm smile as his hand clenched tightly behind his back and then slowly relaxed. "I'll show Ms. Chamber around the house." "Cool." Finlay nodded. "I'll take the room right next to Ms. Chamber's, then." "That one's mine," Scott said, his voice slightly colder. "Yours? I thought you usually stayed in the room downstairs?" Finlay looked confused. He remembered Scott occasionally staying at this place, and it was always in the downstairs master suite. "I've moved upstairs," Scott replied with a tight smile that did not reach his eyes. "Oh, then I'll take the one next to yours. That way, if Ms. Chamber needs anything, I'll be close by since you're probably going to be super busy," Finlay said easily before turning away to settle in. Analise glanced at Scott, whose jaw looked like it was about to snap in half. That man looked like he could chew through concrete right now. To defuse the tension, she said, "Admiral Hopkins, why don't you give me the grand tour of the place?" Something about the way she addressed him clearly hit a nerve. He replied, "You can call me Scott—or Scotty, like Finlay does." He knew the formal tone meant she still did not fully trust him, and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit—especially since he was trying his best to be gentle with her. "Alright, then. Thank you," Analise said with a smile. After giving her the house tour, Scott returned with her to find that Finlay had already unpacked and settled into his room. Not only that, but he had somehow found a vase, filled it with water in the kitchen, and was just about to carry it up to Analise's room. "What are you doing?" Scott asked, brows tightening. "Oh, fresh flowers wilt by morning if you just leave them out. So, I got a vase, filled it up, and now, I'm putting them in water so they'll last a few more days," Finlay replied casually. Without missing a beat, he gently placed the bouquet Analise had left on the table into the vase. Then, he turned to her with a big, bright grin and asked, "What do you think? Doesn't it look great?" Scott was exasperated. He could not help but think that sometimes, there was just no winning. Meanwhile, Finlay was silently patting himself on the back. One of his best friends had told him this exact move would earn points with females—and judging by the smile on Analise's face, his friend had been absolutely right. As for Analise, she was grinning not because of the flowers, but because she had just witnessed a commander get upstaged. Not only that, but he also could not do a damn thing about it. Without a word, she gave Finlay a subtle thumbs-up. Scott caught the gesture, and the friendly smile on his face instantly twisted into something that looked suspiciously like wounded pride. Then, he turned and walked down the stairs without a word. "What's with him?" Finlay was shocked, thinking he had just seen Scott pouting. However, that was a ridiculous idea to entertain, and he wondered if he was mistaken. "I have no idea," Analise said, shaking her head. But of course, she knew—she just was not going to say it. "Ms. Chamber, you're trending on Cosmoseek!" Finlay called out as she started down the stairs, hurrying to follow her. "Me? I'm trending on Cosmoseek?" Analise stopped mid-step, pointing at herself in disbelief. "Yup! You've got to see this," Finlay said, tapping his wrist to open his interface. He had previously kept all his data private, but now that he was officially one of Analise's guardians, he had changed the settings to let her view it, too. Analise leaned in as the floating screen appeared between them. Then, she read through the trending topics. "#Stormclaw Alliance Commander Scott Hopkins, SS-grade Mind Essence Bearer, Is Now the Guardian of a Pure-Human Female!" and "#Analise Chamber: Possibly the First Pure-Human in Interstellar History With Mind Essence!" There were also, "#Pure-Human Confirmed With Grade-F Mind Essence!", "#Even Pure-Humans Can Soothe Male Therians Now?", and "#F-grade Mind Essence Could Actually Calm an S-grade Male?" … Analise and Finlay stood shoulder-to-shoulder, reading the trending headlines together. However, the further they scrolled, the more her expression tightened. The comments were overwhelmingly negative—full of skepticism and insults. Some accused Stormclaw Alliance of stooping too low in a desperate attempt to gain power, claiming there was no way a pure human could possess mind essence. Others were clearly jealous fans of Scott, furious that he was a guardian of someone like her, a lowly F-grade pure human. And then, there were the enemies—people out to drag Scott's name through the mud, calling him a fool or worse. When they finally reached the last headline, Analise looked at Finlay and asked, "How did my info leak this fast?" "All data in Interstellar Alliances is shared. Of course, only high-ranking members can access it, so someone from another alliance must've leaked it." He glanced at her and added, "To be honest, Ms. Chamber, you being a pure human with mind essence is already a shocker. Then, the fact that you were able to soothe someone like me—an S-grade male—that just made it even bigger." He added, "So, yeah, being the hot topic was kind of inevitable. They're only doubting you right now because they haven't actually seen you in action. But once you're rested, we'll film you calming down another male. Preferably an S-grade who's already losing control." Finlay closed the interface and guided her down the stairs. "Let them doubt you for now. Once they see what you're capable of, they'll regret every word they said—especially your old alliance."