Chapter 97. Awaiting Your Radiance
After lunch, Luo Nan headed back to the cultivation chamber to continue consolidating his Tier, hoping to see if he could break through to Tier One Late-Stage before the start of term.
If he managed it, he would absolutely dazzle everyone when the sester began!
"Young Master—Miss Anya…… has co to find you again."
Just as Luo Nan had eaten and drunk his fill and was rising to head back to the cultivation chamber, the little maid Aina ca running up to him breathlessly with this news.
"Hm? Why is she here again? Her wages should be fully settled……"
"Aina, why does that person want to see ? What's the reason?" Luo Nan turned and asked.
"Miss Anya says she ca to wrap up the final piece of work and collect the wages for these past few days."
"Work?" Luo Nan was montarily confused.
But very quickly he rembered what work Anya was referring to.
That was back at Serela's Hocoming Banquet—in order to avoid too much direct contact with Serela, he had temporarily hired Anya at the rate of 30 Surs per day to act as his liaison with Serela on the case.
Luo Nan rembered telling Anya at the ti that the work would continue until the case concluded, or until one party wished to end it early.
Her coming today…… must an the case was over.
After all, he had already found the financier behind the 'Nature' cultists' assassination attempt last night, and the investigation Serela was overseeing had naturally co to a close as well.
'Serela has probably already gone to the Perez residence to 'raid the place' by now.'
'Best of luck to your whole family, Perez.'
After a silent mont of pity for those poor souls, Luo Nan said, "Alright, Aina, let's go see Anya."
"Phew……"
Having wiped the last traces of food from the corners of her mouth, the golden-eyed girl gave her small belly a satisfied pat.
"Worthy of the dillion Ducal Manor indeed—even the refreshnts they put out for guests co in such generous portions."
The girl had specifically tid her visit to coincide with the al, precisely so she could snag a free al here.
Even if she might not get to the main courses, the array of refreshnts alone—dazzling enough to make her eyes swim—was more than enough to leave her utterly unable to stop herself.
Ever since the first ti she had eaten the little refreshnts made by the dillion kitchen, she had never been able to get that taste out of her mind.
Even if she had just eaten quite a bit at the Ducal Manor last night, that was yesterday's late-night al.
The mont she thought about the fact that her employnt with Luo Nan was about to end—that after this there would be no reason to co here and freeload als anymore—a faint, quiet lancholy settled in Anya's heart.
'I have to eat through everything here one more ti today!' the girl resolved.
"Had enough, Miss Anya?"
Luo Nan, walking in through the door, caught Anya mid-wipe and darted a glance at the still-empty plates on the table. He couldn't suppress a twitch.
"Oh—no, not full yet." Anya startled, and imdiately opened her mouth to deny it.
The words had barely left her lips before she realized the problem with what she'd said.
Before she could correct herself, Luo Nan laughed. "Since you're not full, Aina, go and notify the kitchen to prepare—"
"Wait, Miss Aina, hold on—I'm not……" Anya hurriedly called out to stop Aina.
She absolutely refused to be made a fool of by Luo Nan again!
Luo Nan gave a light smile. "Why doesn't Miss Anya hear what's in the Set Three nu before making up her mind?"
"What's in it?" Anya asked on reflex.
"Ahem ahem……" Hearing Anya's question, Aina imdiately switched into professional mode. She straightened up, and following the standards set forth in the Maid's Glory Handbook, began introducing Luo Nan's "Set Three" in perfectly polished, classical Rosarian.
"Miss Anya, Set Three is the light-scale banquet at dillion Ducal Manor reserved specifically for receiving guests. It consists primarily of a main course, a at entrée, seafood, side dishes, a soup course, and dessert."
"Let's start with the main course—I think Miss Anya would be most interested in that," Luo Nan interjected.
"Yes, Young Master."
"For the main course there is a Forest Venison Rib Rack, an Iron-Pot Ri Beef Stew, a Rosemary Roasted Blue-Feather Chicken, a Spice-Smoked Ham, a……"
Aina rattled off the main course items at speed, and even when certain dish nas were particularly tongue-twisting to pronounce, the little maid still managed them without a single slip.
Gulp……
The sound of saliva being swallowed.
Luo Nan watched Anya's every little movent. Once Aina finished her introduction, he asked at a leisurely pace, "Well? Miss Anya—are you eating?"
The girl bit her lip, those pretty golden eyes darting back and forth between Luo Nan's face and her own stomach.
After a mont, she gave a slight nod.
"……I'll eat."
'Ha…… you tiny little Chosen Hero—you think this Young Master can't handle you?'
"Aina, go notify the kitchen. Three servings, rember."
"Yes, Young Master!"
After Aina pattered off, Luo Nan settled into the head seat and gestured for Anya to sit as well, saying, "Miss Anya, you ca this ti for the final handoff, and to collect your wages for these past days—correct?"
"Right—Her Highness Serela said she's already cracked the true mastermind behind your assassination." Anya sat down and nodded in acknowledgnt.
"Mm, she already inford . It was indeed that family who did it."
Hearing Luo Nan say this, a gleam of curiosity imdiately lit up in Anya's golden eyes. "Could you let
know…… who it was?"
"……you tell ." Luo Nan shot her a flat look.
"Hmph, fine, if you won't say so be it," Anya pouted. "In total it's 12 days—the first two days' wages you already paid , so the remaining ten days at 30 Surs a day cos to 3 Faras."
"Naturally, not a single coin less for you."
Luo Nan fished out three gold coins from his coat and pushed them across to the Anya sitting opposite him.
This ti, Anya didn't put the coins in her mouth to bite and test the purity—she simply slipped them straight into her coin purse.
"That thing…… between you and Her Highness Serela last night……"
After she left last night, Anya had gone ho and found herself increasingly unable to sleep—she was just too curious about the relationship between these two!
She knew full well that Luo Nan most likely wouldn't tell her, but she still had to ask—otherwise it felt like ten thousand ants crawling under her skin.
"Serela and I……" Luo Nan tapped his fingertips lightly on the table. "Nothing more than friends."
"What kind of friends?"
"……"
'Girl, your question is crossing a line.'
Anya knew herself that the question was inappropriate, but it seed to have bypassed her brain entirely—the mont she heard Luo Nan say "friends," it had leapt straight out of her mouth on its own.
'Ugh! This insufferable curiosity of mine!'
The girl consoled herself thus.
"Haha, I know, I know—I was just asking offhandedly, just offhandedly……"
After saying this, the girl fell silent.
With that topic exhausted, she had no idea what to say to Luo Nan now.
She found that, although these past dozen or so days she and Luo Nan had seemingly been through quite a few hair-raising events together—even reaching a level of friendship that could be called 'forged in shared near-death'—when she actually thought about it carefully, what exactly was their relationship?
A noble scoundrel and a commoner girl?
Employer and employee?
Or……
The girl lowered her head, fidgeting with her own fingers, quietly thinking over how to break the silence between the two of them.
Fortunately, the silence didn't last long. Luo Nan was the first to speak:
"Right—Anya, you're a prospective new student at Radiant University, aren't you?"
"Yes—how did you know?"
Luo Nan didn't answer her question. He smiled faintly. "So am I."
"You are too?" The girl was sowhat surprised. "You're the sa age as ?"
"Quite the coincidence, isn't it?"
"Mm……" Anya gave a nod.
"Well then, Classmate Anya—you don't mind
calling you that, do you?" Luo Nan's tone carried a thread of playfulness. "I look forward to witnessing your radiance at the start of term."
Anya was caught off guard by this sudden form of address and the word "look forward to." She turned her head away, and replied with slightly awkward stiffness:
"Hmph…… my radiance doesn't need you to witness it. And you—don't think that just because you've gotten into university you can keep doing whatever you like. Radiant University is full of genuine talents!"
Luo Nan gave an unbothered shrug. He glanced at the Quartz Clock on the wall, estimated that the kitchen should have finished preparing by now, and rose with a smile.
"Nearly ti, Classmate Anya—the banquet should be ready. After you……"
***
"The above concludes the main points of this eting. Everyone, let us encourage one another……"
Pfft—
The mory Crystal shut off. Serela sat in silence on the bedroom sofa of her private residence, not saying a word.
The golden-haired Imperial Princess's expression was grave, her beautiful brows knitted together.
"These people…… have already prepared to take things this far?"
Serela crossed her arms, her ten jade-like fingers nearly digging into her own lotus-white arms, a faint flush of red rising to the surface—yet she paid it no mind at all.
After so ti had passed, she released her hands. She rose, stepped out of her skirt, and laid bare that breathtakingly beautiful, exquisitely jade-like form to the open air of her bedroom.
The Imperial Princess removed her high heels and stepped barefoot onto the spotless floor, walking unhurriedly to the full-length mirror.
She placed both hands gently over the jade peaks of her chest, then let them slide slowly downward along the curves of her body.
Serela closed her beautiful eyes, carefully sensing the softness and smoothness conveyed through her palms.
After a mont, she opened her eyes again, t her own gaze in the mirror, gave a slight nod of her head, and murmured:
"It seems…… that matter needs to be moved up the agenda."
"Luo Nan—it would appear that you very much wish to keep your distance from ?"
"It doesn't matter…… if you want distance from , then…… I'll simply close the distance myself."
"Luo Nan von dillion—you cannot escape. You…… can only belong to ……"
With that, as if having made so resolution, Serela raised her head once more. Those violet eyes, bearing the mark of supre imperial blood, held nothing left in them but resolve and determination.
The Imperial Princess turned and walked slowly into the bathroom.
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