I waited for her answer in silence.
I didn't want to force her into this relationship, but for her to accept it out of her own will. I could even reveal that I am royal in title, and she would essentially achieve her dream by marrying me. But that isn't what she wants.
She has resolved herself that she would become a knight to revive her family. She wants to do that with her own hands. So, I am not going to force her.
Elain looked at Zeru, who was waiting for her answer patiently. She had processed what he had said, and many had proposed to her before, but what he asked of her was different. Unlike others who tried to impress her by saying they would give her everything, his proposal didn't demand her of anything but to see if he could be the person she would want to spend the rest of her life with. It was his genuine request, and he had given her the option to choose.
She had thought that she would never waver after resolving herself to revive the family, but this request had caused a ripple in her resolve. And even though she wants to reject him, she felt guilty. She didn't want to reject him without even knowing who he is. Her mind wandered through many scenarios and arrived at a conclusion.
"Okay," Elain answered.
'I am not agreeing to date him but to see him for who he is, and I have the choice to reject him later.'
"I agree to spend time with you and see if I can go further into the relationship. But I hope that you don't feel bad if I end up rejecting you," she said.
I nodded and smiled at her answer, but my mind was going haywire.
YES! This is what I have been waiting for! Let me take her home and introduce her to my mother saying, 'Here is your daughter-in-law.' I want to brag about this to Fran. Man, I am awesome.
"Thank you for giving me a chance," I said, hiding my thoughts.
I got up from my seat and walked to her. Elain looked at me with a questioning gaze.
"Didn't you want to know how I found out?" I spoke.
Elain nodded her head and turned her ear to me. I leaned in and whispered in a mischievous tone, "I didn't."
Elain abruptly turned her head.
"Then how?" she asked.
Her face was nearly touching mine. It's getting dangerous; I could feel her breath.
*cough*
I coughed and straightened myself out of the dangerous situation. I gave her a knowing look without answering, which was an answer itself.
Elain noticed my gaze, and her brain worked to find the answer. Her face brightened as she found the answer but soon started to turn red like a tomato. She buried her face in her legs to hide her shame.
"It was me, wasn't it?" her voice leaked.
"It was just a hit or miss, but who would have guessed for it to be correct," I smiled.
Man, she is so cute. I just want to pinch her cheeks. She is so easily readable that someone will dupe her out of her money if she plays poker.
I walked back and took my seat, giving her time to calm herself.
After some time, Elain looked up, her face still a bit red, and her eyes moist. She looked at me with an expecting gaze.
Understanding what she wants to hear, I answered.
"Your secret is safe with me," I crossed my heart.
Who would I want to share this with? This belongs only to me. I am the only one who can tease her like this. If anyone else saw this, I would rip his eyes out.
"T-thank you," she wiped her face and sat up.
I lifted the kettle and poured the still warm tea into her cup.
"Drink this to calm yourself," I said and pushed the cup toward her.
Elain silently lifted the cup and sipped the tea, letting the warm tea calm herself she looked to the red sky.
"Calm now?" I asked.
"Yes," she breathed out.
I saw the red sky and said, "I would love to keep you here, but the sky is already red, and your friend is waiting," I sighed.
I got up from my seat and extended her hand, and Elain took it without trouble. Seeing this, I just smiled and led her to the ground floor.
I noticed that Adam and Luranta were sitting where I had left them. Seems like the meatball made her move. I was a little happy for my friend.
But as I neared their table, I noticed the awkward silence between them. Did something happen? No, it doesn't seem like it. Luranta looks nervous, and Adam is sitting with his eyes closed. It is this bastard! He is the one causing the awkward atmosphere.
I should have known! This stubborn bitch.
"Yo meatball, did someone die? What's with this atmosphere?" I tried to lighten the mood.
Luranta turned to my voice but instead of answering, she gave me a death stare.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, confused.
Luranta bit her lips as if to keep herself from shouting. And I, for some reason, felt like I was the problem.
'What did I do?' I asked with my eyes.
'What you didn't do!' Luranta glared back.
While we were having this interaction, Adam got up from his seat and walked up to Elain. He checked her complexion for any signs. Emma had told him that Zeru demanded her to meet him after saying something to her. In this situation, the only conclusion he got was blackmail.
He noticed her red face and moist eyes, deciding that she had cried. His head snapped in Zeru's direction. He moved and grabbed his collar.
Zeru, who was conversing with Luranta, was startled a bit as he never expected anyone to grab his collar.
Luranta stood up in shock as she saw Adam grab Zeru. She didn't know what to do as she panicked.
"YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, "What did you do for her to cry?" he asked.
"Dude, calm down," I said, annoyed at his antics.
"I knew you were trouble. I should have never allowed her to come here. What did you do to her?!" Adam said enraged.
"Wait, he didn't do anything," Elain intervened.
"Yes, calm down and listen to them!" Luranta voiced.
Adam turned to Elain, "Did he blackmail you?" He asked.
"NO! he just wanted to talk to me," Elain said.
"You don't need to lie, Emma told me everything! And how he threatened you," he said.
"No, that was just a misunderstanding," Elain tried to explain.
"Listen to her dude," I said, nearing my limit.
"Then why do you look like that?" Adam asked.
"It's a bit complicated," Elain replied, not knowing what to say.
"I knew it, he is threatening you," Adam turned to me.
"Hahaha, meatball," I laughed as I was done with this shit, "I am going to kill him."
I pulled my hand back, channeling the stored Qi, ready to punch this bitch to the kingdom come.
Luranta, who heard it, went into full panic mode as she remembered the guy who was lying with a metal mask sticking to his face. She instinctively moved to Adam, she hugged him from behind to move him away.
But due to her weight, both lost their balance and began to fall.
I saw Luranta about to fall with Adam and caught her; her weight was nothing to me. Adam fell on his butt.
Luranta, seeing that she didn't fall, turned to see the person who caught her. Her eyes met with Zeru's, which were darkened by the shadow and something deeper. She felt fear when she looked at it.
'He was going to kill him!' that thought popped into her head as she looked at those eyes.
I lifted Luranta to balance and walked to Adam.
I grabbed his collar and lifted him to my face. He glared at me, but I wasn't afraid.
"Next time, if you pull something like this with your stubborn shit, I will send you to your grandfather," I threatened.
I dropped him back to the ground and straightened. I moved to Elain, who looked guilty. She was thinking that she was the reason for this fight.
"You don't need to feel guilty," I said firmly.
Elain looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine. Seeing her firm resolve, she calmed a bit.
Luranta, seeing that Zeru had moved without fighting, sighed in relief. She moved to help Adam get up, but Adam just slapped her hands away.
Luranta felt sad at his behavior.
"Please, resume your lunch," a calm, aged voice arrived.
The middle bald butler came to save the day. He calmed the unsettled customers in the restaurant with his reliable demeanor.
He came to the group and looked at Luranta.
"Young miss, please go to your room," he said sternly.
"But Hans–" Luranta tried to talk but stopped herself after seeing his gaze. She lowered her head and walked to her room.
The butler turned to the rest and spoke.
"Please leave," he pointed to the door.
"Sorry for causing trouble," Elain bowed.
"Forgive me for my unsightly behavior," Adam bowed, as he knew that he shouldn't have caused a commotion here.
I just bowed my head.
The three of them walked out of the restaurant in silence as they were literally kicked out.
"Man, you really had us kicked out," I complained.
"I am really sorry for causing this trouble," Elain apologized again.
"No need, it wasn't your fault," I said, glaring at Adam.
"No, I shouldn't have caused this misunderstanding. I should have explained myself," Elain said.
Seeing that she was beating herself up like this, I decided to use the opportunity.
"Seeing that you are still unsettled, how about I give you a light punishment to put your mind at ease?" I asked, a mischievous smile forming.
Elain nodded, as it would help her feel relieved.
"Okay," I said and grabbed her hand.
"This is your punishment. Let's hold hands," I smiled.
Elain blushed as I interlocked our fingers; she didn't expect me to be this sly.
"Hey, bastard!" I called Adam, who was drilling a hole in my face with his stare, "See this? She allowed me to do so. Next time, don't come spitting your saliva at my face."
I gestured with the hand that was interlocked with Elain's hand, irritating him. Adam's face scrunched in anger, and I was enjoying it.
"She didn't allow it. You used her guilt to make her do it, just like how you blackmailed her to meet," Adam said.
"That's what you think, you stubborn bastard," I retorted.
"Zeru, stop," Elain stopped me and turned to Adam, "It was a misunderstanding, and I have cleared it with him. Emma was just messing with you. Please, understand," Elain asked of him.
"Yes, listen to the lady. I won't be as patient as I was next time, though," I said, waving the hand that was holding Elain's, irritating him.
"Okay," Adam decided to let this go, for now.
"And you'd better keep your manners with my friend," I warned.
"Let's go, Elain. I will take you to your room," I said to Elain and looked at Adam, "You are not needed anymore, Adam. I will safely escort my lady back."
I finished irritating him and pulled Elain toward me.
"Thank you for escorting me here," Elain thanked Adam.
"Bye-bye, Adam," I waved to Adam like a friend, irritating him more.
Adam stood in place as he looked at Zeru and Elain holding hands, his veins bulging in rage.
Luranta looked at the shocking sight of Zeru holding Elain's hand in shock from the lounge. She had only expected Zeru to make minor progress in their relationship, but she never expected him to make such leaps.
At that moment, Zeru turned and gave a smirk.
She felt like their eyes met for a moment, but she couldn't confirm.
Leaving one in anger and the other in shock, Zeru strolled down the road with Elain, holding hands. He felt especially happy as he had irritated the stubborn bastard and was holding hands with Elain.
"I am sorry," Elain apologized again after some time.
"Come on, you don't need to," I turned to her.
"But it was caused because of me," she lowered her head.
"And you are getting punished," I waved my hand, which was holding hers.
Elain blushed as she saw it. They were walking on the street, holding hands like a couple. She didn't know how this happened; she just agreed to spend time with him and not date.
"I know that I won't be meeting you frequently, as we will become busy with our studies in the future. So, let me enjoy this moment a bit longer," I smiled.
Especially as I need to clean the garden from tomorrow onward, and the garden is nearly as big as a football court. I could only weep internally as I thought of it.
Elain just lowered her head at his statement, and she felt a bit happy at his understanding.
Zeru carefully escorted her back to the dorm, and he stopped holding her hand to stop any rumors from spreading.
*****
Light reminder,
This is Zeru's perspective of things, even though they didn't go exactly like this.