Flower of Steel

“Wow. You’re so slow on catching onto stuff about yourself, but you’re so fast when it comes to other things around you. You’re right. I’m here on a different matter today, but I came to say hi while I’m on it.”

I was about to throw some swears at him for giving a wrong analysis about me as I’m quick to catch onto things, unlike what he said. That’s when the man deepened his smile and mumbled.

“Anyway, what do you think? I’ll persuade my client to give up going after you if you become my bride.”

There was no way I would take such crazy words seriously when my life was on the line here. “What? Are you crazy?” He wasn’t the Crown Prince, so I felt no need to stop myself from spitting out at him, and he laughed.

“Whoa, I’m completely sane. I’m a romanticist, you know? If you become my woman, I’ll take care of all the household chores and raise our kids. You can’t find a man like me anywhere. But I only need you to take care of my mother, as she lives alone.”

That crazy a*sh*le’s words were illogical. First, one has to take care of their own parents, and a skilled woman like me would rather find workers for household chores and raising children. Besides, if I were sane, I wouldn’t even think about marriage with that strange and suspicious man.

“Cut the nonsense and tell me why you’re here.”

“Nonsense? So harsh. It may be the second time I’ve seen you, but I felt we’re destined, beautiful!”

Why did his crazy words remind me of Rave? I was about to snap at that suspicious man for making this atmosphere more casual than it actually was when someone yelled at him in my place.

“You crazy a*sh*le! How dare you try to flirt with my Mari… I mean, my sister!” Lumi’s voice was coarser, probably because she was angrier than before.

The suspicious man frowned and snarled, “Hey, husky girl. Is there a law that prohibits a mysterious man from trying to flirt with a woman he likes? No, right? Then why are you trying to interfere with my love?”

It was absurd but hard to fight back, so Lumi tried to blurt angrily out further when the man suddenly reached his hand towards me. Or he tried to, at least before he stopped.

“Oh? Wow… This is astonishing. Coming back already? I felt it going weak, so that’s why I came, but I didn’t think he would be fine. Today was just a test to see his strength, but boy, he’s a monster. I guess it’s the blood.”

The man then pulled back his hand as he continued, “I better get going. My target seems to be more difficult than I thought. I’ll need to be prepared. Anyway, beautiful. It was fun. Think about my offer, alright? Let’s see each other with smiles next time.”

Today, I think I have heard similar words, but how I felt about them was different. If my face blushed because Rian’s proposal was mesmerizing and overwhelming, that crazy man’s proposal infuriated me, and I wanted to hit him in the chest. Anyway, it’s good that he’s retreating. I was so nervous about what to do if he attacked…

The man disappeared, and I quickly looked down at the stage. Jianne and Rian, who had been fighting relentlessly, also seemed shocked that their enemy had disappeared as well.

“I guess we have a lot to talk about.”

I turned to look at the kid calling me and nodded, “Yeah.” My eyes were fixated on Rian and the other kid coming towards our seat from the stage. “I, too, have a lot to ask.”