Hal inford her of the news and made to continue but linda shook her head and turned away
"I don't want it anymore, it feels rushed" she pouted
"Okay, how do you want it then?" Hal asked with a smile
"The grandest way possible" linda smirked and Hal's face blanked, the smile was wiped off
"No, not that" he let go of her and backed up
"Yes, exactly..." linda smiled and moved closer until he was backed up against the wall and their faces re inches apart
'Here it cos. The word I have hated more than anything else on earth, I can't believe I will hear it from her' Hal thought...
...But if linda noticed his discomfort, then it only excited her the more because her smile grew -if possible- even wider "I want a marriage ceremony"
"*Gasp*. Betrayal" Hal said with a face filled with hurt but linda simply shrugged and stepped back.
How could she not know her man? During the last week together if there was one thing Hal made clear as subtle as he could. It was how much he hated the whole concept of marriage.
While it would not stop him from 'chasing skirts' he still did not want to be married in any real sense.
linda of course picked up on that and had long decided she would seek to be married to him. A simple contract won't cut it though, so she wanted it to be as public and as grand as possible.
She was vain that way.
"You didn't expect to be satisfied with a simple contract did you?
Hal looked at her in silence for a while before he sighed "Is that all"
"That is all" she nodded and Hal's smile beca smug again as she had forgotten one detail, the most embarrassing part on the road to getting married and he did not intend to remind her as he left her smiling in triumph.
He was at the door when linda spoke again...
"Of course I want a public proposal as well"
...Hal's knees went slack.
...
Alia sat in the lounge with Rita who had been mostly silent since she got there.
Alia decided to spend her ti studying one of the two won who spent the most ti with Hal and what she saw did not put a calm smile on her face.
It was not jealousy per se, it was more of an insecurity brewing within her as she watched ladies who were many decades her senior have a more youthful looking skin than hers.
The more she watched, the more dissatisfied she felt and eventually she couldn't hold it in and decided to inquire about her secret
"Oh this?" Rita said with false confusion as she stretched and flaunted her creamy perfect skin "This is a testant to the power of the elixir of youth"
"Elixir of youth?" Alia did not believe it, this was obviously Rita's attempt at a joke
"Yes, Elixir of youth. The type that only cos from Hal" Rita nodded with a wink
Alia instantly caught on and blushed to the root of her hair
Rita chuckled but decided to end it there and not make the her feel more uncomfortable than she already felt.
Alia's blushing face gradually returned to normal while she wondered if Hal would agree to what she had co to ask him.
Speak (or think in this case) of the Devil and he shall appear. Hal finally showed up and as he had yet to see Alia, his face was wearing a frown.
Not one of anger but one of frustration and discomfort.
The whole conversation was still very much on his mind while he walked to the lounge, all of it was made much worse by the cackling Grimiore in his head.
'What's so funny?' Hal asked when it beca too irritating
'Nothing' Grimiore chuckled
'Grr. Spit it out' Hal growled
'It just seems incredibly ironic that the world in which you can finally let your promiscuity run amok also happens to be the world where a girl finally gets you to not only marry her but also propose to her 'publicly''
Grimiore did not seem to care that Hal did not share it's humor on the matter.
In truth, this should not have ant anything to Hal but he just did not feel comfortable being in a more committed relationship than he already was.
While he was still lost in his thoughts...
'By the way, your -fiancée- has a suppressed bloodline'
... Grimiore dropped another bombshell.
'What? And you are just telling this now'
'It didn't co up'
Hal was forced to put the conversation on hold as he worked on turning his frown into a smile as Alia hugged him tight and pulled him out of the mansion to the garden where they usually take walks.
"So, are you here just to spend ti with or for...sothing else" Hal asked with a seemingly innocent raise of his brows
"Rouge" Alia smiled and turned away. She was aware that the only reason they had yet to take the next step was because she was not ready. Hal for his part acted normal and did not seem all that interested in asking for it.
This always ward her heart... at least until it ca to mind that there were two ladies with him already and he was hardly suffering from abstinence.
"I want you to have dinner with my family" She said
"Okay" Hal answered instantly
"But of course you don't have... Wait, what?" Alia was convinced she had heard wrong
"I said okay. If you want to, then I will" Hal repeated. After the realization that marriage was in his future, dinner with her family was sothing he believed he could handle.
"When is this dinner?"
"Day after tomorrow" Alia still felt a little surreal to see things going so smoothly
Hal on the other hand could not think of any reason not to et another great family head, this was an opportunity to have another ally.
He was not under any illusion that Gregory would continue to obey Hector Edgar, at so point he would co after him and Hal's n were far from ready.
The most pressing issue was acquiring a more permanent location for properly nurturing his n and also a premises to proceed with the next stage of his plans.
As they walked back towards the mansion Alia decided to ask another question that bothered her
"Will you join the competition?"
He stopped and turned towards her "Will you?"
Alia shook her head "I won't. I have no interest in such a pointless struggle, and I have no need for this city's validation. So stop turning the question around, will you?"
Hal shrugged "I just might. All the young talent of Salmon city engaged in a contest. It seems promising"
"Alexander is surely going to participate" Alia cautioned
"So what?" Hal chuckled
"He's dangerous" she said in a serious voice
"Well I survived the Holgers, I think I can survive him" Hal said and walked back towards the mansion with Alia looking shocked behind him
"You have sothing to do with the death of the Holgers" Alia asked in disbelief
Hal turned "Yes I do"
Alia lightly bit her lower lip"You look so hot right now"
"I always aim to please"
...
That evening Hal sat crooslegged in his room as he absorbed cosmic energy in another greedy bid to further advance his cultivation.
Killing the Holgers happened to count as being on the grand scale but so far Hal had not bothered to redeem it or even see what it was. He decided to do that now, but a gentle nudge to his subconscious caused him to pause
"What is it?" Hal asked
"Master, The Holger estate is going up for auction"
"This must soon be public news, why bother reporting it"
An information was shared with Hal that caused the edge of his lips to curl
"Hmm, interesting"
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