Chapter 87 - Here For A Hand In Marriage

Inside a room designed in an eastern setting, an old man seated at the head seat was emitting a dangerous aura. A man was whispering to his ear. The poor man who was unfortunately chosen to serve the demon king was almost pissing himself as words came out of his mouth.

"Bring her here when she comes." The old man, Oujiro, ordered in a cold voice. The man nodded his head and dashed out of the room, of course, he remained calm and quiet on the outside.

After the man left, Oujiro was left alone in the room. He let out a sigh while he looked outside, where the garden could be seen.

A greenhouse would be sighted once you entered the garden. And that greenhouse was where Yue liked to stay. Remembering the bitter events in the past, his heart tightened.

He looked away. It has been years, maybe he should demolish it and replace it with another building.

How long would he still be caught up with the past?

He let out another sigh. He is already old. There are some matters that he could not take care of. He should pass the seat to the heir.

"Cough…"

He let out a cough of blood. His time is nearing. Regrets were piled up behind his back. He did too many unspeakable things, sins that can't be cleared. Even if he apologize, kneel, he could never be forgiven.

That is why, today, he will settle things with her. It might end up peacefully, hopefully…

There was a knock on the door. "Enter." Oujiro said and the door opened slowly.

He clenched his fist before slowly loosening them. He straighten his back, raised his chin, like the dignified man he was.

***

Ayami took a deep breath and entered the room. Her gait, calm and confident as she walked in. Kayden nonchalantly followed behind her, this time the head butler did not stop him. Marie stayed behind and will wait for them to come out.

"Nervous?" Kayden whispered in her ear. Ayami glanced at him and shook her head. He made a thumbs up and smiled at her.

"Grandfather, it has been a long time." Ayami briefly smiled and bowed her head. This is what she was taught whenever she had to stand in front of the patriarch, of course, she has the privilege to call him grandfather. But it was not something she was happy about.

"There's no need to do that anymore." Oujiro casually said. He poured out a tea for the both of them. "Take a seat and have this tea. You must be tired after travelling."

Ayami felt weirded out by the unusual things Oujiro was doing. To pour a tea for them, that was something he would never do. He is the patriarch, the head of the family!

What the—? Who are you? An impostor?

Furthermore, he was showing concern. Did you get an amnesia? Or somebody possessed your body?

Kayden sat down and took a sip of the tea. He even casually commented, "This is good. Whose the manufacturer?"

"It's one of the Lein's high-quality produced tea, of course it would be good."

"Oh? That's a shame then."

"Why? You want to buy the company and make it yours? As expected of your kind." Oujiro sneered.

"Why, thank you for the compliment."

The two casually conversed with each other like they were old-time friends. Meanwhile, Ayami:

Who am I? Where am I?

???

"What brings the honorable young master here?" Oujiro asked after taking a sip of the tea.

Come to think of it, how come her grandfather seems polite with Kayden? What is his true identity?

"I'm here to ask for your granddaughter's hand in marriage. And by granddaughter, I meant Ayami."

Before Ayami could ponder over his identity, a bomb was casually dropped. She almost fell on the chair by how surprised she was. Even Oujiro was shaken seeing how he was coughing and almost choking.

"Grandfather, are you alright?" It was Kayden who asked out of concern.

"Whose your grandfather!? Shameless brat! Out! Get out, if you're gonna talk nonsense!" Oujiro shouted at the top of his lungs, face red. Due to anger, he didn't bother keeping his polite attitude.

"Kayden, what are you saying? Whose getting married? To whom? To grandfather?" Ayami's brain malfunctioned due to shock.

Kayden was speechless. Aren't you guys overreacting?

After a while, the two calmed down. Oujiro was massaging his forehead. This brat is gonna be the death of him.

"Like I said, earlier, I want to marry your granddaughter."

"Not allowed."

"Oh, okay. Then we'll just elope."

"You…" A vein popped on Oujiro's forehead. He almost vomited blood on the spot. "We'll talk about this later."

Kayden nodded his head, satisfied. Ayami's lips twitched. They were talking like the subject was not here.

"Grandfather." Ayami called out in a soft voice, seeing that the two were finished conversing with each other.

"Speak." Oujiro, the cheapskate when it comes to word, spoke.

"Celine… my friend… I heard that she was here." Ayami was reluctant to speak. She just wanted to know where Celine was, take Celine and get out of here.

"Guest room."

Unlike when he was conversing with Kayden, he was speaking like his words were gold. What is with the difference in treatment?

Anyway, what he meant was that her friend was inside the guest room, completely unharmed. It was a good thing that Ayami was a maxed-level decipherer that she honed over the years, only exclusive to her cheap grandfather.

"Go. We'll talk later."

It looks like he wanted her to leave because he wanted to talk to Kayden.

"Understood."

Ayami left the room to find Celine. Before she left, she took one last look at her grandfather and Kayden. They were talking again and it seems like their conversation was deep. It made her wonder what they were talking about for them to make grave expression. Though she wanted to listen in, she could not eavesdrop.

One thing she noticed was that her grandfather seemed gentle today.