Both Judith and Diane knew Valerian would be visiting the Shanahans that day, though they did not know what time. The two of them had never met an important figure before, so they decided to dress up and drop by the Shanahans to see what the fuss was all about.They estimated Valerian would arrive around eleven o'clock in the morning, and not earlier than that since he was planning on having lunch. It was already a little past nine o'clock in the morning by the time they arrived at the Shanahans'."Grandmother, you look absolutely well!" Diane was happy to have received two-hundred-and-eighty-five-thousand dollars as a reward from Catherine. It was, after all, a kind of acknowledgment."I'm glad you noticed. It's true what they say, how a person will look well when good things are happening. I never dreamed an important figure like Mister Valerian would ever grace our home with our presence. The others must be green with envy at our good fortune," said Catherine with a chuckle."I
Felicia jumped up in fright, and hurriedly asked, "What should we do? The fact that Mister Valerian is here earlier than expected means he really holds us in high regard. He'll surely be displeased if he finds out not all of us are here yet!"Catherine, however, was strangely calm. "There's no need to panic. It's not like Mister Valerian is very close to Severin. With such a big group like ours, it'll take him some time to notice Severin isn't among us. We'll just pretend Severin is already here and go out to welcome Mister Valerian for ten seconds or so. Then we'll scatter around once we all come back inside. I'm sure he won't even notice Severin's absence if we just do what I said.""Mother, don't worry. Take some deep breaths. Grandmother is right. Things will work out. Mister Valerian will be too busy to take notice of Severin's absence. We'll call Severin once we're back in the house and tell him to sneak in from the back door," Megan said to Felicia."Let's go. Mister Valerian
The wealthy merchants standing by the side started gossiping amongst themselves when they realized Severin was, indeed, missing.In fact, some of the wealthy merchants were inwardly rubbing their hands in glee at the turn of the events as they were jealous of the Shanahans' meteoric rise to success. They had been waiting for the Shanahans to make one wrong move and were sure no one would be willing to work with them once Valerian had shown his displeasure.Zachariah must have sensed something was not right and he quickly signaled Sheila to be quiet with his eyes. It took her a while to get what he was hinting but once she did, her face immediately fell as she lowered her head. It was then she knew she had caused some trouble.'Looks like Severin is really not here. Otherwise, he would have come out to welcome us,' thought Sheila. She recalled how Valerian immediately came to Severin's rescue with just one call and hoped that they would continue to have a good relationship with each
"Holy shit! This kid has balls. Not only did he lie about going into the toilet but he dares to speak to Mister Valerian like they're friends?" said someone after witnessing the latest development.The Shanahans were shocked too. Stanley had already hinted to Severin only to be completely ignored. 'Why won't Severin take the hint? I can't believe he actually told Mister Valerian he had some other urgent matters to attend to!'They could not help but wonder whether Valerian would get angry at Severin.However — out of everyone's expectation — Valerian only smiled and said, "It's fine. You may take the time to finish whatever you were doing. Besides, it's my fault for coming here so early and for not confirming the time of the visit with you all. I'll be sure to be more considerate next time."Everyone was struck dumb. Not only was Valerina not angry but he actually sounded a little apologetic."Haha, don't worry about it. You're more than welcome to drop by for a few drinks anytim
The rest of the Shanahans could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and the crowd soon dispersed. Once everyone was gone, Felicia chastised Severin, "Where did you run off to, Severin? You're lucky that Mister Valerian is a magnanimous person, otherwise, we'd be in trouble if he's offended!"Severin said nonchalantly, "Relax, he's a big shot who once led thousands of troops to war. Why would he be unhappy over such an insignificant matter? It's fine, so don't worry!"Nevertheless, Felicia rolled her eyes at Severin. "Just because you say it's fine doesn't mean it is! You shouldn't have been so rude, you know? Did you think about the repercussions our family would have to suffer if he'd been a petty person?"Diane persuaded. "There's no need to worry so much about it, Mom. Isn't everything fine right now? Besides, Mister Valerian even said that he wants to sit at the same table with Severin and have some drinks with him!"Severin smiled. "By the way, could you join me later, Diane?"
"But I can't possibly accept that, Zenoah. After all, it's a very precious item passed down within your family!" Though Severin knew deep down that it was a genuine treasure worth taking, he remained courteous and humble despite wanting to take it immediately.After all, it would make him look greedy if he were to take a family heirloom without the slightest hesitation.Felicia, who was watching from one side, had a glimmer in her eyes as she took out it from Zenoah. She then rolled her eyes at Severin and said, "He's offering it to you out of sincerity, so you can't just refuse it like that! Otherwise, they won't be able to live with themselves if you reject it!"Zenoah was unaware of the enigma contained within the jade pendant, so he nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mister Severin. I'd feel bad for the rest of my life if you won't accept it!""I understand. Thank you very much for your generosity then!" Severin could only smile awkwardly and say yes."Thank you, Mister Severin!" Zeno
"Miss Diane! Is there something I can help you with?" Keagan smiled and asked when he saw Diane coming over to him."Wasn't it Mister Valerian who led a team of people to rescue you and your sister? Why did you have to kneel and thank my husband? Could it be a misunderstanding?" Diane asked him.Keagan replied with a surprised expression, "Don't you know, Miss Diane? Your husband seems to be a rather good friend to Valerian. When we were held hostage by one of Falcodom's powerful organizations, it was a phone call from Mister Severin that led Mister Valerian to bring his people and investigate the situation before rescuing us and wiping out that organization!"There was a surge of tumult in Diane's heart as soon as she heard that, since she had never expected something like that to happen.Keagan noticed her surprised look, so he glanced at his surroundings before whispering, "Miss Diane, my father told us that Mister Severin is one of those quiet, low-profile, godlike savants. I b
Severin's attention remained on the jade pendant. He was confident that there was something desirable contained within, and though he did not know its exact contents, he was nevertheless certain that it would be a waste to let Felicia have it.As he pondered over his options, he spotted Megan having some tidbits alone. An idea popped up in his mind and he began walking toward her."Megan, can I…umm…ask for your help?" Severin walked over and asked her with a smile.When Megan heard that, she returned the smile. "What do you need me to do, Brother-in-Law? I'll do it as long as it's within my ability!"Megan's attitude toward Severin had changed completely because he had shown himself to be rich and incredibly capable. She felt that the Shanahans' had prospered in recent times due in no small part to Severin, and things would certainly not have been that good for them had it not been for him. Her dreams of driving a luxury car and buying whatever she wanted could not have been realiz