Chapter 05

Upon returning to the mansion, the maids that once ran after me came to greet us. Mr. Ryso instructed them to take care of me as he headed towards the stairs. But before he could go upstairs, he laid his eyes on me.

“You can sleep here for the night. Choose any room you want.” Unlike before, his voice was softer this time. It was something I truly appreciated since he seemed to be concerned about me despite being a stranger to him.

After saying that, the maids led me to the bathroom that was as large as the bedroom Julian gave to me to sleep in. The pair of maids who accompanied me left some towels and clothes on top of the table just outside the bathing room. When they left, I stared at the tub that was as white as the clouds. And not only that, the water was warm and flower petals were even floating. It was a good bath for an immortal like me.

As I took off the dress that was close to being ruined, I was reminded of how that pervert groped me. I shivered, making it feel like it just happened a few seconds ago. To get rid of his awful scent from me, I threw the dress into the bin and submerged myself into the water. I rubbed my body intently to make sure that there was no remnant of scent from that person.

“Die, pervert… die, die, die…”

My voice broke and it pushed me again to shed tears. I can only cover my face with both hands, trying to suppress the sobs from causing any audible sounds. For a mere human to scare the shit out of me like this seemed so pathetic. If only... If only I could use my power without getting hurt, I could have made him dissipate in no time.

“You are safe now… calm down…” I kept chanting those words to keep my sanity intact. I was just afraid that if I won’t control my emotions, I might unleash my power. Doing that could cause my death even before I could even release Arsen from the spell and apologize for what my mother did.

I did not know how long I was in the bathroom but it was probably too long that after I was done putting on some clothes, I found the maids dozing off outside.

Feeling bad, I cleared my throat that woke them up. “I’m sorry you have to wait that long. About the room I am going to sleep in, I will just choose the one beside Mr. Ryso's room. You can rest now and I will go and speak with him. Thank you.”

Embarrassed with how I acted when I ran away from them, I immediately strode away and headed to the second floor of the mansion. I turned to the hallway that led to the room of Mr. Ryso but when I stood in front of his door, my feet froze. Would he really not insist on his proposal to me? I just came to express my gratitude for saving me a while back so I hope he would keep his words.

Taking a few deep breaths, I knocked on the door but no one responded. Did he already sleep? Maybe I should come back tomorrow morning…

I held the knob and slowly opened the door. With the small opening, I peeked inside and saw no sign of him.

“Just come in.”

Hearing his voice made me shut the door close. That was just unexpected. I gripped at the doorknob and fought with myself if I should just come back tomorrow or not. But he already knew I was here so I should just enter.

Before I could even make a decision, I was pulled inside when the door was opened from the other side. Right in front of me was Mr. Ryso wearing a pair of glasses and was wearing a pair of matching dark-colored sleepwear. His dark gray eyes stared down at me, a subtle signal that he was back to his old self. Sighing with disappointment, I looked away. Why did I even expect him to be as caring and gentle as Arsen?

“It makes me wonder why a scared mouse is entering the lion’s den at this time of the night.”

I stood straight and did not dare look into his eyes.

Fidgeting with my hands, I said, “I just came to say thank you. If you did not come, I would have been a goner by now. So... yeah... Thank you.”

He leaned on the wall with his head cocked to the side while his arms were crossed across his chest. His stare was still on me so I could only look down on the ground.

“What if I told you that I am not accepting a verbal way of expressing gratitude?”

I lifted my gaze at him and protested, “You said you would not insist your proposal to me!”

“I said until I saw your brave front again. At the moment, you already had the guts to raise your voice against me so I am just doing what I said I would do.”

That just rendered me speechless. I take back what I just said before. This guy was no gentleman but an opportunistic human being. Instead of saying that he was just joking, he turned his back and motioned me to enter his room. Closing the door behind me, I went and sat down on the same chair I deserted hours ago. The papers were still there but this time, there were other documents scattered on the table with a laptop facing Mr. Ryso.

“Can you really not read even the basics of the basic?” he asked as he sat across from me.

I shook my head. Would I be exposed if I told him that their way of writing was just different from ours? No, no, no. I should not say that. It felt too risky to do. He never said anything and just stared at me as if I was some kind of being he had never seen before. Well, I was an immortal so it was most likely that I was the very first immortal he had ever seen.

“What?” I asked.

He heaved a sigh before grabbing some documents and turning his attention away from me.

“You said that you value marriage so you did not want to marry me. What if it will just be a fake marriage? It’ll be just for show?”

I just do not understand this human creature. I mean, what difference did that even make? Whether it was a real or fake marriage, it was still not a good thing because we would not just be fooling ourselves but we would also be lying to other people. Did he have a loose screw in his head?

“What do you even gain from doing this kind of thing? Real or not, I do not agree, to be honest,” I replied.

“It’s so I can decline those marriage arrangements and proposals in the future. Having to deal with people forcing me to marry their daughter is not just a waste of time but it is also a source of headache.”

I grimaced. “Then, why don’t you just marry one of them? That would solve the problem and you would not have to pay them. Why are you making your life so difficult?”

I did not expect that even human beings were also having some marriage arrangements. I only thought that they had all the freedom to choose who their partner is going to be. That was one of the things I was envious of since, in my situation, my mother did not want Arsen to become my other half. But I guess there were really exceptions.

Mr. Ryso dropped the documents he was holding on the table and looked at me with a dead serious glare. What? I just stated the easiest way for him to solve his problem. He did not have to come and drag me into it.

“Of course, they won’t get paid but they would get more money from me and can even cause my very death. If not, then they would force us to sleep together and have a child. I do not want that kind of future so I need someone like you to act.”

I scoffed. “Human creatures are so complex.”

Realizing that I just spoke that out loud, I pursed my lips and looked away. Damn it! I should really pay more attention to what I was saying.

“It’s already late, you should go and take your rest.”

Instead of nodding my head, I asked, “If I were to agree on your proposal, would I be able to meet a lot of people?”

“Of course.”

Well, that could be one way to easily track down the human vessel of Arsen. It was just that I still doubt that Mr. Ryso was the one I was looking for. The scent of the Silver Fox alpha was just too faint that it was probably just a coincidence why he had that scent.

“When will the wedding be held?” I asked again.

“Most likely next week if you agree today.”

If only I had a jaw that could detach itself from me, it could have dropped on the floor right away.

“That’s too fast! Aren’t they going to suspect it?”

“I can always tell them that we have been hiding our relationship for years. It is easy to make up some stories and back it up with a few pieces of evidence.”

His calmness while responding to my question was a bit scary. If a person could scheme something like that while wearing such an unbothered expression, then I should really keep my guard up. I mean, they were probably the person who could kill a person and then act like nothing really happened.

“You seem to be a person of high position so is it okay for you to make me your wife even though I do not know how to read the basics of the basic?”

I especially reiterated the last four words of my statement to emphasize to him that I was no ideal wife for him. And to be honest, I just see myself walking on thin ice right now. But anyhow, we were going to use each other to get our goal. That would be a win-win situation, right?

He was about to answer me but we both turned our attention towards the door when we heard a knock.

“Sir Alexander, Chairmain Ryso has come to see you.”

I wondered who that was but even before I could ask Mr. Ryso, he stood from his seat and grabbed a few documents. He hid them underneath his laptop and turned to me. Out of nowhere, he shuffled my hair and without saying anything, he unbuttoned a few buttons of his sleepwear.

I gave him a confused look because there were just no words coming out of my mouth since he started to act so weirdly.

“It’s my father. Do your part as my wife and I promise that I won’t throw you in the den of perverts.”

I gasped at how he threatened me. It was unacceptable for him to use my weakness just for me to do his demands. Before he could leave the spot where he was standing, I grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to bend towards me.

“Did you just threaten me? Should I break that perfectly molded nose of yours-”

I was just cut off when I heard the door open. Without letting go of this bastard, I looked behind me and saw a man of old age looking just like Mr. Ryso. If only he did not have gray hair and wrinkled skin while holding a cane while walking, I could have mistaken him as this bastard right beside me.

“Postpone your sex for now. I need to talk with the two of you,” he said as he walked in.