"Ouch!" Lothur cried out in pain, feeling as if a rock had hit his left chest.
'What a wild woman!'
'She attacked me so hard, so suddenly!' He looked at Elise, regretting that this woman was there to get in the way of his business with Viktoria.
But before Elise could do anything else, Viktoria finally made her move, stopping that blonde woman from kicking Lothur in the belly.
"Elise, what do you think you're doing?" She shouted with a slightly angry tone, feeling bad for having to defend such a man.
Feeling Viktoria's icy hand gripping her heel, Elise looked at her in surprise and tried to justify herself. "Young miss, this scumbag..."
"No matter how you see him, you cannot hit him like that!
"Get out now!" Viktoria ordered coldly, feeling that she needed to have a serious talk with that woman later.
Viktoria genuinely had no feelings for Lothur. However, it was not appropriate for him to be beaten by that person, or rather by anyone.
It was not good for him to get hurt or even for his life to be at risk... It would not be suitable for her to become a widow so soon...
And although Viktoria did not find it so problematic for Elise to teach Lothur a lesson just once, such a thing could get out of hand if she allowed it to happen once. So, she would instead simply prevent it, not tolerating any aggression.
'Hmmm.'
'Interesting.' Lothur looked silently at Viktoria, noticing some unconscious signs left by her.
After seeing that blonde woman leaving them alone, Lothur sighed deeply and said in a weakened tone. "Darling, it's a good thing you stopped her, or you would have become a widow before we even consummated our marriage..."
But he did not continue with his words when he saw Viktoria's cold gaze in his direction. "What were you saying before she attacked you? Explain it to me well because, for some reason, I feel like you were trying to threaten me..." She said, standing in front of the man lying on the ground.
Upon hearing this, Lothur tried to ignore the pain in his body and looked into that woman's eyes without showing fear to her.
He then held a brief silence until he finally asked something. "If you don't want me as your real husband, why did we get married?"
"You don't need to know."
"Everything was agreed upon between your guardian and me, so just understand that you and I have no affinity and will never have any more meaningful relationship than that."
"But you can still enjoy the advantage of saying you are my husband and being part of the Frost family."
"Oh? I think I need to know..."
"Do you think I care about any arrangement between you and my guardian?" He asked in a provocative tone, noting how that woman held back from doing anything against him.
He then continued. "From my point of view, it seems that you need me, but I don't feel any need to be married to you..."
"And, my dear wife, do you know who has the most power in a relationship?"
"The strongest, of course!"
"Wrong!"
"The one who has the most power in a relationship is the one who needs the other the least!"
"Then why shouldn't I demand more than I have now?"
"Is that so? You don't need me?" Viktoria's eyes grew colder as she advanced against Lothur. "Your guardian told me that you would be more than happy to fulfill the role of my husband..."
"Did she lie? Or are you trying to change your own words?"
"Hehe, Viktoria, although you are so cold on the outside, I can see that you feel irritated by my words..."
'Perhaps the women of this world are not so different from some of them on Earth...' He cautiously observed Viktoria's figure, sensing that, to some degree, that woman placed importance on personal validation through others' opinions.
"But, all right, let's put that aside." He said as he raised one of his hands toward her, indicating her to help him up.
He then said. "Let's make a deal."
"I will ignore why you want me as your husband, even though you don't want me. And I will act in accordance with my role. But in return, I want you to do one thing with me, just once."
Her eyes sharpened even more, while some veins in her neck appeared due to the tension she was feeling. "Be careful with your next words, Lothur..."
"Unfortunately, dear, I won't be asking that today..." He chuckled before finally going to his goal. "What I want is easy and simple to do."
"How about you give your husband a warm hug? I promise not to tell anyone, and I will do as agreed."
"A hug?" Viktoria said in surprise, not believing that's what this man wanted. 'It seems I overestimated him...'
'Humph!'
'He would never have the courage to suggest anything else!'
But Viktoria had misunderstood Lothur. He was not seeking affection from this woman who radiated waves of contempt toward him in asking for a hug.
No, Lothur would never stoop to such a level of submission, especially with someone who had no regard for him whatsoever.
This young man's mindset was very clear about relationships between men and women. He knew that no woman would be attracted to the beta loser who was available, submissive, and needy for her attention.
Thus, he would never behave in this way to try to attract a woman. No, this action now was nothing more than a method for him to get closer to the necklace around Viktoria's neck!
As for winning that woman over, well, it was too soon for him to think about that. Lothur understood that his value as a man to Viktoria was meager at this point. So, there was no point in him worrying about her for the moment.
He would just invest in himself, and sooner or later, she would have the opportunity to participate in his life, not the other way around!
And whether or not that would happen made no difference to him either.
As a man growing up on Earth, Lothur was used to women of much lesser beauty than those of the cultivation world. So, even if he became interested in some 'action,' he didn't need to relate to Viktoria to get that.
Eventually, he would increase his value as a man, and the various options in his surroundings would converge in his favor. As for Viktoria, she was just one option in a pool of opportunities.
That way, he just wanted to get his hands on one of those scrolls mentioned by the system, which might help him evolve in this strange place he had transmigrated.
"Well? Will you make this little gesture to your husband? Or will you leave me here on the floor?" He asked with a bright smile on his face, still with one of his hands pointed at her.
After that, Viktoria pulled that young man up, making him stand right in front of her, a distance away that she had never allowed any man to stand from her.
"Do we have a deal?" His pupils contracted, look at her as she looked into his eyes with her head slightly raised.
At that instant, Viktoria and Lothur were only about forty centimeters away from each other, and if anyone watched them from afar, they would think they might kiss at any moment.
However, for those two who were closer to each other and could read the intentions in each other's eyes, they both knew this had no chance of happening.
That was particularly true for Lothur since he saw a deadly look in Viktoria's eyes, which, if it were not for the fact that his life seemed to have some value to her, he was sure he would not escape alive.
She then opened her arms, making room for Lothur, but making no move to approach him. "Make it quick and never touch the subject again."
"Don't worry, dear, I always keep my promises!" He said this with a genuine smile on his handsome face before finally doing what should be done.
'I hope this damn necklace is what I'm thinking, or this was all for nothing...'
He then brought one of his hands to the middle of Viktoria's back, while the other went straight to the back of her neck.
'It's all or nothing!' He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his back as he finally completed his move.
In that instant, he hugged that woman, hoping that his interpretation skills had not failed him.
'Come on! Come on!'
'The damn leaf is closer to me than the reach of my hands... Come on, system!' He prayed in his mind, hoping Viktoria would not screw things up before achieving his goal.
...