Proposal
Perhaps Edward felt insulted because the succubi were fawning over Ross and uninterested in him. Business wasn’t busy at noon for the succubi; most of them were free. When they saw cute Ross, they all rushed over to him, giggling and hugging him.
“Aw, cute kitty, you want to have a nap in my arms?”
Several succubi surrounded Ross with their charming smiles. His tiny triangular ears were swiftly wrapped up in the succubi’s mountains, almost leading to suffocation.
A more mature succubus approached Edward, who had stood around for a while: “Please come over here, Customer. Do you have anyone you are familiar with?”
“Leah. I am looking for Leah.”
“Leah? Sorry, Sir, but Miss Leah does not entertain guests. If you know her, does that mean that Lord Lin sent you?”
“I was! I was!” shouted Ross, after fighting his way out of the succubi’s maze of breasts.
Ross struggled with all he had to break free from the next hugs to no avail. They caressed his face and asked, “What a cute kitty. There’s nothing to do at the moment, so how about we provide you with free service?”
“No! Don’t! I want to see Miss Leah! I need to see Miss Leah!” cried Ross.
As opposed to saying that the succubi were serving Ross, perhaps killing him would be a more fitting term. Ross’ face was as red as if he was going to explode; however, he didn’t dare to push them away for he was afraid of touching them indecently. The succubi felt he was even cuter because he wanted to look, yet didn’t dare to. They loved the kitty; if kissing his cheeks didn’t prove it, then what better proof would there be?
The experience traumatised Ross. Years later, he couldn’t forget the humiliation he suffered there… That was the reason he avoided the place every time he’d visit the imperial capital… Moreover, he was extremely afraid of Leah, who was also a succubus as he was afraid she’d do the same thing one day…
As they smothered Ross, Sophia came downstairs with her pipe hanging from her mouth: “All right, stop joking around. As Lord Lin sent them here to see Miss Leah, don’t hold them up, or Miss Leah will be angry.”
“Yes, Madam.” The succubi backed off whilst giggling.
Ross quickly stepped forth and conveyed, “I… I am Lord Lin’s pupil. He is in danger right now! I need Miss Leah to go see him! Lord Lin is in danger! I am telling the truth! I swear! I need to see Miss Leah! Where is Miss Leah?!”
“Don’t panic. Miss Leah is upstairs. You just need to head up to see her.”
Edward voiced,, “I also want to see Leah. If possible, I would like to see her in private; I have something to say to her.”
“Head up together, then. Bear in mind, I won’t allow her to leave this place. Lord Lin arranged for Miss Leah to stay here. If he wishes to take her from here, he must personally come and pick her up. Else, I won’t allow you to take her from here.”
Ross flinched: “I can’t do that! I must take Miss Leah to the imperial palace! Lord Lin is in danger! I swear it!”
“Isn’t that Lord Lin’s issue, then? Since when did a father require his daughter to save him? Also, he left her here, which means that he should be the one to take her away, not you. If he can’t resolve the matter, he will be a businessman who owes others fifty thousand gold coins. As his daughter, Leah will be sold off. I will not allow her to be sold off! Therefore, only Lord Lin can take her away from here rightfully. I won’t allow anyone to take her.” Sophia completely shut Ross down.
The most pressing issue wasn’t the fifty thousand but that he couldn’t get over his failure, though. Ross needed to ask Leah to bring his master back to his senses. Otherwise, Veirya would see her man and Sisi’s marriage announcement when she came to. How heartbroken would she be to see that?
Edward ignored them and headed up. Sophia didn’t stop him. Edward knocked and welcomed himself in.
Leah was in the middle of diligently reading a book. As soon as she heard someone enter, she immediately shut the book. The book she read was the brothel’s financial records. As her father taught her, financial records couldn’t be carelessly shown to others. As such, Leah wouldn’t let Edward see the records, either.
“What now? Are you here to sell me off now?! If Papa didn’t trust you, he wouldn’t be in this predicament! What do you want?!”
“No, no, no, Leah, let me explain. This incident really doesn’t have anything to do with me. I just wanted money to mine. I never expected th-”
“Impossible! Papa bought shares to the mine and then used it as collateral to loan money from the bank! The shares were yours, though. There’s no way you didn’t know what happened! I’m Papa’s daughter! Papa taught me about these things! I’m not an idiot! I’m not going to be fooled!” fumed Leah, as she rose to her feet. “If you are just here to find entertainment from our misery, then I don’t want to see you. Although it’s normal for you businessmen to deceive each other, he’s my father! If you don’t have business, get out! I don’t want to see you!”
“Wait, wait, wait, Leah. Calm down. Listen to me,” cried Edward, who got to his feet and pressed his hands on Leah’s shoulders.
Leah was just a kid, true. In reality, though, nobody knew her real age. She was merely in a pre-awakened state. When conversing with Edward, was nothing about her to suggest that she was a child.
“Leah, believe me. I am here to provide you with a suggestion that would allow you to return to your father’s side. You can choose to refuse, but can you listen to my suggestion first? I can’t find your father at the moment. If I can, I wouldn’t speak to you.”
Leah narrowed her eyes. After a brief moment of thought, she asked, “All right, then. Speak. What is your suggestion?”
“Leah, will you marry me?”
Slap! Leah immediately slapped Edward across the face the moment his last word left his mouth. She hit so hard that Edward’s spine cracked. He wouldn’t have known that, while she looked in her teens, her teacher was none other than Veirya and Angelina. Although she had trained under their tutelage for less than a month, she knew exactly how to throw heavy blows. As a result, she literally slapped Edward’s conscious out of the room and into thin air.
“Now you just insulted me! I wouldn’t marry you! I’m done with you offending me! Get out!”
“I can repay the fifty thousand gold coins for your father, though!” shouted Edward, hand on his face.
Leah froze in place. With his gaze on her back, Edward explained, “Lord Lin is done for. He has chosen to stay with Her Majesty. The truth is, we deceived Lord Lin under Her Majesty’s orders. Her goal was to make him pledge himself to her. She has succeeded now. If Lord Lin cannot pay off his debt, he will be forced to stay in the imperial palace permanently. What about Veirya, though?
“If Veirya wants to be with your father, he must have fifty thousand gold coins. I can provide him with that amount. As long as you marry me, I’ll be able to put together fifty thousand gold coins. I take that back. Not even five hundred thousand gold coins would be an issue for me now. I am now running a business with that miraculous stone. I have the most stones. I can earn fifty thousand gold coins in the blink of an eye. As long as you marry me, I swear I can bring you fifty thousand gold coins!”
Leah blankly stood in place. She neither called for anyone nor turned around. She was aware of what Edward said. She knew her father’s debt was enormous. If Queen Sisi didn’t help him, he couldn’t repay the debt. If he went bankrupt, she would lose her family. Actually, it wouldn’t be just her family she’d lose. The elves cohabitating with her and herself would be sold off. Queen Sisi was her father’s last straw. Alas, Queen Sisi tricked her father.
“How can Papa make a comeback? Vieyra is still wounded and in the elven lands. If she heads home and finds her family is gone, Mama Veirya… Papa did so much for me… He’s just an ordinary human. He stopped Veirya’s blade for me when we first met… Afterwards, regardless of what happened, he was always by my side… Should I do something for Papa?” Leah mused.
“Can you really help my father repay his debt if I marry you?”
“I guarantee it.” Edward took in a deep breath and pressed a hand to his heart. He solemnly repeated, “I swear I will help your father. Leah, as long as you marry me, I promise to provide you and Lord Lin with a better life. Trust me.”
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