[00 Months: 09 Days: 12 Hours]
"Please, sit," I said, offering her the only chair I had in the room.
The Delegate nodded and gracefully lowered herself onto it, while I picked the next best thing, the edge of my bed.
I glanced at the closed door before turning back to her.
"Are you sure it's advisable to be without your entourage?" I asked, arching a brow.
Seraphina rely smiled, an air of serenity about her. "I trust you, Luke. You went out of your way to save . I have no reason to fear you."
"But back then, I didn't know you were the daughter of the Lyma Family," I pointed out, shifting slightly on my bed. "Now, things are different."
A flicker of sothing crossed her face. Disappointnt? Uncertainty? She looked slightly flustered and I imdiately felt a pang of regret.
'Did I go too far?'
"I'm just joking," I said, raising my hands in surrender. "I wouldn't harm you, Delegate. I'm just saying that you should be more careful about trusting people. Not everyone is as harmless as I am."
At that, Seraphina laughed lightly, a soft and genuine sound that seed to brighten the dimly lit room. She nodded, her smile lingering.
"I appreciate the sentint, Luke. I'll keep that in mind."
I nodded back, relieved that she seed to understand where I was coming from. I might not have been a threat to her, but not everyone would be as kind.
Especially not in this new world we found ourselves in.
'But even so…'
As I looked at Seraphina, I couldn't help but have so thoughts swirling in my mind.
I wondered what kind of picture Benard had painted about . So sort of valiant knight, a virtuous hero?
I wouldn't be surprised if he'd embellished the truth a little.
'But why would he do that? Could it be a misunderstanding on his part?'
See, the real reason I'd refused to move to a better room was simply because I didn't want that to count as a reward. Explore more at m,v l'e-
I wanted to maximize what I could get out of this whole situation.
If they'd put up in a better room, they might have deducted the cost from my final reward.
Moreover, I had insisted on waiting until Seraphina was awake because only she would be able to grant a satisfactory reward. She was the Lyma family delegate, after all.
Kindness? Consideration? No, it was nothing like that. I was just looking out for my own benefits.
And now, sitting here in front of Seraphina, I began to think that maybe I could use this misunderstanding to my advantage.
If I played my cards right, and she favored well, maybe I could get even more rewards than I'd initially calculated.
But a fear gnawed at .
What if Seraphina had been told that I was so kind of righteous hero?
What if she thought that I didn't care about rewards, that I'd done all of this out of the goodness of my heart?
That could backfire spectacularly.
The reputation I'd sohow managed to build up could prevent from being greedy. And that was a situation I certainly did not want to find myself in.
I hoped it didn't co to that.
'I want to be rewarded! You can't leave high and dry, okay?' My thoughts scread as I comported myself before the Noble lady.
Still, all I could do was wait and see. The ball was in her court now. I could only hope that I'd played my cards right.
"What's the real reason you wanted to see privately?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity. "I have a feeling it's more than just thanking with your words."
In my mind, I was hopeful. I was expecting her to reveal the rewards I was going to receive for my deed.
Yet, as I looked at her, I noticed a troubled expression on her face. The room seed to darken a little as my hopes began to falter.
'Oi, oi, oi, don't tell there's no reward!' A flicker of anger rose inside , but I knew I had to control it.
"Calm down, Mikey," I murmured to myself. "Let's hear her out first."
"L-Luke," Seraphina stamred, breaking the silence. "Can I ask you to hear out for a mont?"
My heart thumped louder. Was this it? Was she going to thank with just words and nothing else?
'I don't want to think the Lyma Family is a cheapskate Noble Household. Co on, Seraphina. You guys can't do this to … you know how much I sacrificed?'
Well, I didn't sacrifice much.
I an, ti was money, so in a way maybe I sacrificed my ti. But over the course of the past three days, I hadn't particularly done much, so it probably wasn't too big a deal.
'Still… this is the life of a Noble lady we're talking about. It has to be worth sothing!' My thoughts echoed.
I hoped this wouldn't be sothing disappointing. I really wasn't a fan of people using .
"I feel awful for having to do this so abruptly, especially when I haven't properly rewarded you for your actions yet."
My ears perked up at her words. 'Yet.' That one word was like a glimr of hope.
She hadn't forgotten about my reward!
'Hehehe!'
A happy mood instantly took over , and I found myself donning a friendly smile.
"No need to be shy, Seraphina," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just tell what it is."
She clenched her fist tightly, as if preparing herself for sothing big.
After a mont, she finally spoke up, her voice filled with a strange mixture of determination and vulnerability.
"Luke... I need your help," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "My family and I need your assistance."
And there it was. The delegate of the prestigious Lyma family was asking for help.
Now, the ball was really in my court.
'This better be sothing good!'
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[A/N]
We finally hit a hundred chapters, and I'm so excited about this.
Thanks for reading, and for your constant support, everyone!
Cheers!
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