Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 438

Liam had the bodyguard hold up the phone while he ranted into it, his voice echoing down the line. “Dames, do you realize what you did wrong? Harrison, Gemma, do either of you get it?”

Gemma, bundled up in a puffy winter coat, had cheated a little—when they knelt down on the cold stone steps, she made sure she was kneeling on the thick folds of her coat rather than the bare ground. The coat was so oversized that she didn’t even have to bow that low.

Still, even with her shortcuts, by the time they climbed the fiftieth step, Gemma was gasping for breath. “Liam, don’t you feel the least bit sorry for us? Dames’s face is practically blue from the cold!” she complained, her voice thin in the biting wind.

Liam’s voice, coming through the phone clutched in the bodyguard’s gloved hand, was sharp as ever. “My biggest mistake was spoiling you all too much! If I let my heart go soft and let you off the hook, Leo would’ve had Dames and Harrison hauled straight off to the police station!”

Even through the phone, the anger in Liam’s voice was unmistakable.

“Dames! You’d better learn your lesson this time. This is the last chance your Great-uncle Leo is giving you! Own up to what you’ve done, and stay at the abbey with your father to do some honest soul-searching. And another thing—Leo wants each of you to write a reflection letter every single day you’re here. Handwritten. Then type it up and email it to Leo. No excuses.”

“What?!” Dames groaned, practically collapsing onto the steps.

Gemma jumped in to help him complain. “Why does Leo have to meddle in everything?”

Liam barked through the phone, “Just do as you’re told! After all these years with the Vaughn family, can you really be so clueless about where Leo stands?”

After his outburst, Liam hung up, sinking back into his office chair, breathing hard. His gaze drifted over the neatly arranged stack of profiles on his desk—each one a dossier on a woman in her forties or fifties, listing every detail: marital status, number of children, family background. These matchmaking profiles had clearly been laid out for him while he was out. He didn’t need to guess who was behind it—Leo, as always, acted more than he spoke.

Liam wiped the cold sweat from his brow and ended the call without another word.

It took Harrison and Gemma nearly four hours to reach the top of the mountain. Gemma, exhausted, forced Harrison to stop several times and wait for her to catch up. In the last half-kilometer, she needed to pause for breath with every step.

Finally, when the grand silhouette of Serenity Church rose before them, Gemma collapsed on the ground and burst into tears.

Inside Serenity Church, Liam was already waiting.

When Harrison entered the great nave, Liam’s voice was cold and unyielding. “Leo wants me to shave your head myself. A father is responsible for his son. Now that Dames has no mother, it’s on you to keep him out of trouble.”

Harrison said nothing. At Liam’s command, he knelt on the prayer cushion, face set and silent. Liam picked up the clippers and buzzed Harrison’s hair down to a crew cut. Tufts of dark hair fell like wisps of cloud onto the floor. Harrison stared straight ahead at the serene visage of the saintly statue—so much like Leo, though Leo himself never wore such a gentle expression.

Leo always seemed above it all—never angry, never pleased, yet always capable of bringing down the thunder and holding the whole Vaughn family in awe.

Harrison clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. His eyes were black and stormy, like a deep swamp threatening to swallow all light.

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