She caught everyone’s attention immediately, those who had assumed it was the usual spat turned to see the oncoming drama.

She stood there in white, a blue with golden lines, box held delicately in her hands, her fingers tightened just enough to suggest reluctance.

She bit her bottom lip as though implying the weight of the gift burdened her.

"This is too important," she continued, " it is not something I can accept."

She shifted slightly, as though losing her balance, but remained standing.

’Wow, she is really the perfect white lotus’

A few tears dropped, then she continued, almost as if it hurt her to say it.

"I don’t want to misunderstand your intentions and give others the wrong idea."

A ripple of murmurs spread through the hall. Sympathy tilted towards her side immediately.

’So considerate’

’So pure’

’So careful not to hurt him, yet doing what’s right’

A flawless white lotus.

Silver wanted to roll his eyes at the moment. If it had been the former Silver he would have jumped on the bandwagon of comforting her before she could even finish what she was saying.

These types of scenes had played out so many times that Silver cringed every time he stumbled upon a memory.

Just how blind were these people?

She was doing the same thing over and over again to all the fish around her and they all stuck to her.

As predicted her protectors stepped forward, almost surrounding her but leaving enough room for her to face him.

One of the young men beside her spoke quietly," You don’t have to do this now."

Another frowned," If this is about him, we can handle him."

A third added, his gaze drifting briefly to Silver, "Just say the word."

She shook her head gently, rewarding each of her fish with a small sad smile.

"No... I don’t want to cause any trouble." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Of course, she didn’t. She wanted all the attention on her, if they had stepped forward then she would be pushed to the back.

She might even get blamed for inciting a fight among the younger generation.

It gave her a sense of power when she could control the room like she was doing at the moment.

Of course, she knew Silver would never take back the gift. She just needed everyone to know she wasn’t after his family’s wealth.

Cruella did live in the elite side of the sanctuary but they weren’t as rich, just middle tier. Her mother had been the one to train her while her father spoiled her rotten.

She was an only child after all and all her parents’ love only belonged to her.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Silver stared at her for a moment then slowly walked towards her, closing the distance between them.

That alone was enough to draw whispers because that wasn’t how he was supposed to react.

He came to a stop in front of her. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Hers narrowed just slightly as though she was coming up with the next counterattack.

Cruella could feel it from that one stare, something was wrong. She had expected him to beg to accept his gift, not this.

This new version of Silver didn’t look desperate like someone who was supposed to lose something precious, just... clear.

She slightly frowned but her features went back to normal right after.

Silver reached out and took the box from her hand before she could react.

While everyone was covered in surprise, Silver was also going through some forgotten memories. They came trickling down the moment he touched the box.

’How can you be so stupid?’

He glanced down at the velvet box, and on the right corner were small initials. His initials and his parents.

His parents had left him this box before leaving to go and defend the sanctuary during a beast wave. They had never come back.

Silver had clearly been too traumatised to remember.

The inheritance.

The love-sick former had given it to the heroine. Silver looked at the box, barely hiding his surprise.

He pulled it closer to himself and took a step back from the heroine.

Cruella looked at the box in Silver’s arms, her heart skipping a beat. She felt as though she had lost something important.

She really wanted to get it back.

Silver lifted the lid slightly but whatever was inside had been covered.

His gaze lifted, meeting hers. His lips curved in a small but kind smile.

"... Thank you," he simply said, closing the lead with a soft click.

One of his uncles snorted," That’s it?"

Another raised his eyebrows," No tears? No begging?"

A third one leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp," Or is this the part where you pretend to be dignified?"

A few laughs followed but Silver ignored them all. The men around Cruella were not laughing, all of them were watching because they could feel that it wasn’t over. His behaviour change was baffling.

Silver shifted the box in his hand, almost idly.

"I’ve been thinking," he said.

His voice wasn’t loud but it carried a form of natural authority.

"About what it means to want something... or someone. That kind of thing only works if both sides want it," he said, meeting her surprised gaze," I’ve forced my intentions on you for too long and it seems to have caused you a lot of trouble."

He subley glanced around, gauging their reactions. Silver knew they wouldn’t easily believe him but it didn’t hurt to try. He needed to cut off the connection with her immediately so that if she ever approached him, there would be nothing to tie her to him.

He was also worried about his fiancées death. How did Cruella end up killing her and why? The only thing that he could come up with might be jealousy.

This woman survived on attention and traditionally, villainesses are always more beautiful than the heroines.

If it ever came to killing her, he didn’t want any Karma tied between them.

A sharp laugh cut through the hall

"Now he’s discovered philosophy," someone said, low enough to remain unidentified.

"This is truly a historic day."

A quick chuckle followed but it didn’t last long because something about Silver’s tone didn’t sound like a joke.

"So," Silver finished lightly," I’ll stop."

No one believed that.

"You expect us to believe that?" one of her men, if Silver could remember was already a contractor, asked.

Silver glanced at him briefly.

"I don’t expect anything from you."

The man’s expression hardened slightly.

Another stepped forward," Watch your tone."

Before it could escalate, a loud bang vibrated through the hall.

"Enough!"

The patriarch’s voice got everyone on high alert. Silver lazily turned to face him.

His gaze moved from Silver... to Cruella... then to everyone gathered assessing them.

Then, dismissing the exchange with a single breath.

"This is not a stage for your personal matters."

His cold eyes settled on Silver again.

"You can do that when you awaken," he said," if you can."

It was clear he had already been set for failure.

"All candidates proceed to the awakening chamber."