Gyllena’s gasp echoed through the interior of the restaurant, breaking the silence.

"Are you lose your mind? No way I will pay you that much!" She hissed. She staring at Theo as if the man had just pointed a knife to her neck.

Gyllena was not alone in her surprise.

"Mister Roost, this joke is...not funny," Tizmilly interrupted, her smile stiff and forced.

But Theo didn’t waver. His jaw kept shut tight, his gaze locked to Gyllena’s pupils with an intensity that made the room felt narrow. "I am not joking," he answered flatly.

Calary, Theo’s mother, knitted her eyebrows deeply. She extended her left hand, sticking her back hand on his forehead with worried expression.

"The temperature is normal..." She muttered, before breathed a long sigh that made her shoulders drop relievedly. "That’s good."

Theo’s guard finally crumbled a little. He frowned, but he let his mother checking his temperature. "Mom, I am not sick, okay?" said Theo with a bitter smile.

Calary giggle, pat Theo’s head once before taking her hand back. "Better be safe than sorry—wasn’t that your words, Theo? I only mimicked my son."

Seeing his Mother’s grin, Theo could only scratch his cheek even though it didn’t itchy, his pride as ’the cruel condition giver’ suddenly faded.

’I really couldn’t win over Mom...’ thought Theo. He sighed and leaned back, relaxing the tension away from his shoulders. He filled his lungs with air again before shifting his gaze to Gyllena again. This time, more relaxed. "But I am serious here. Without 200 gold coins, I will refuse no matter what you say."

Gyllena frowned and gritted her teeth, hesitating. Her reasoning urged her to leave, but her butt sticked to the chair, refused to move. Maybe it was because of Theo’s Mother’s wonderful cooking skill, or maybe to was Theo’s reaction when he heard about Jahreon. Either way, she knew she need them.

"...May I know the reason?" she asked.

Howey, 200 gold coins was far from something someone could threw away simply to hire a temporary chef. So before deciding, she wanted to know the reason first.

In response, Theo shook his head. "No, I can’t."

Theo couldn’t completely believe Gyllena. Different from Tizmilly’s case, where he found it okay to even tell her about the end of the world, he didn’t know Gyllena’s character that well. Mostly because the game never explored her character that deeply.

Frustated, Gyllena slammed her palm on the table, "Don’t playing with me!" She huffed, glaring at Theo.

Behind her, her knights began unsheathing their swords, their eyes staring at Theo with hostility, ready to fight at their Lady’s first order.

Gyllena opened her lips, about to complain, but Theo raised his hand and interrupted her. "Then please leave," he sold dismissively.

"Khh—" Gyllena shut her lips, her shoulders shook. She clenched her fists until her fingers became pale.

Meanwhile, her knights were already holding their swords, their stances lowered like a predator ready to pounce at its prey.

Tizmilly and Calary exchanged uneasy glances.

"Mrs. Roost, move closer to me," Tizmilly whispered to Calary, sensing that situation was not good. Calary nodded and moved her chair closer to Tizmilly’s chair.

Theo didn’t give the knights any attention, didn’t even glance at them, focusing solely on Gyllena.

"So... What now, Gyllena Layver?" He asked, crossing his arms. "200 Gold coins, and trust me, you will be able to see the sun smiling at you everyday after your engagement. Don’t worry, even if I scammed you here, 200 Gold coins is just a mere dust compared to your family whole wealth, right? Or you leave, and bring hell to your life."

Gyllena looked up to him, her thought weighing the options. Her frown deepened. The ticking sound of the clock became louder than ever to her.

Her experience of managing her Family taught her not to let other underestimate her, let alone taking advantage of her. It would bring shame to her family name.

However, she counted it. Theo used word "hell" twice to describe her engagement party. Why? She asked herself. And she found two answers. Either it was because he exagerated everything, or he knew something about Jahreon that she didn’t.

Then her gaze landed on the red-haired girl sitting across her, who was looking at her knights warily. The girl who once played with her when they were young.

After that, she shut her eyes, her chest lifted as she breathing slowly. She composed herself back. Her cold eyes returned when she faced Theo again.

"... Fine," Gyllena replied, extending her hand toward Theo. "I’ll chose to believe you. You better not disappoint me."

Theo looked at her gloved hand, grinned, then recieved it. "Heh, at least I won’t leave you with a destroyed mansion."

Gyllena didn’t immediately took her hand back. The handshake felt stiff, as if she had just signed a contract with the devil to save her own life. Theo could feel the pressure from Gyllena’s silk glove—cold and full of hesitating.

​"200 Gold coins," Gyllena repeated these number with a whisper, fearing that if she said it out loud, her family wealth would be evapotated. "I’ll give you half of it. The other half would be paid after the party ended."

​"Fair enough," Theo replied shortly. He released her hand and crossed her arms again.

​Behind Gyllena, the two knights hadn’t lowered their guard yet. Their hands were still sticked on their sword handles, their eyes stared at Theo as if the man was the most impudent thief in the Dungeon City. However, with one wave from Gyllena, they were forced to back down and sheathed their swords back with a sharp klik sound.

​Calary, who was just spectating until now, finally stood up. She tidied her apron up and looked at Gyllena with her motherly stare that made the noble lady felt small for some reason. "If it is a serious business, then I have to quickly prepare the kitchen. Feeding a prince and his guests is not something that can be done with only simple spices."

​"Mrs. Roost," Gyllena called with a somewhat softer tone. "Thank you... For your willingness."

​Calary just smiled lightly. "Don’t thank me. It is because of my stubborn son. Don’t worry, he maybe looked like he was robbinh you, but he never took something without a reason."

After Calary returned to the kitchen, the first floor became quiet and suppressing again. Theo knew that he had to start formulate a plan. An apostle like Jahreon was not an enemy that could be handled unpreparedly.

"I will send a carriage to fetch you three days before the party started," Gyllena stood up, trying to returning her dignity as the head of the Layver family. "You all will stay in my mansion until the day of the party came. I believe three days are enough for you to get everything in order." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Three days?" Theo tapped his finger on the table. "Make it four days. I need to check your food supplies and laying... Something."

Gyllena sighed, she looked too tired to debate about it further. "Fine. Four days.

​When Gyllena started to walk toward the door, Theo called her once more. "Gyllena."

​The Noble lady’s steps halted. She turned around, her eyebrows raised.

​"Do you really don’t know anything about Jahreon?" Theo asked, his voice low and serious.

"Gyllena was silent for a moment. Her eyes stared at the restaurant’s wooden floor, where a vague stain of sauce was visible. "He is the second prince of the Tarram Kingdom. He known to be smart, born with a powerful Magic, and... Has a slightly closed personality. My father always praised him before he disappeared. That’s all I know."

​Theo scoffed sarcastically. "Slightly closed? Too polite for him... Tsk."

​"What do you mean?" Gyllena narrowed her eyes, her curiousity piqued.

"Well, you will see," Theo answered dismissively. "Now, return to your mansion. But don’t forget to check your yard everynight. If you see someone there doing something strange... Call me."

Gyllena stared at Theo with a gaze that hard to be described—a mixture of hate, fear, and dependance. Without saying a word, she turned her body and got out the restaurant. The sound of her footsteps soon replaced by the steps of the horses moving her carriage away.