Four Split Personalities

The latter then pulled at the corner of his mouth and shook his head, offering Motan a wry smile. "No worries, Mr. Dabus. I indeed overstepped just now, you should hurry and get up."

"Got it~"

Motan sprang up from the ground and reseated himself on the chair, then, crossing his legs, he raised an eyebrow at Emily. "Then let’s continue, shall we? I wonder how Duke thinks of it? Oh right, old man, bring us some snacks, I’m quite hungry here."

[You’ve got some thick skin there!]

Double Leaf and Deku were both shocked, but the latter still managed to swiftly produce several plates of delicious snacks out of nowhere and place them on the table, which showed that his housekeeper skills were MAXed out.

"Hehe... Mr. Dabus, you truly are a dragon among men."

Emily wielded a couple of archaic common phrases and blossomed into a smile that melted all the ice and snow. "Then please, explain in detail to me the meaning of your earlier words."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Motan picked up a piece of the snacks and threw it into his mouth. After he finished it with a smack, he cleared his throat and flashed a madam-like smile at Emily, "Let’s start with Shu Bresen first. He certainly has no feelings for you. To be frank, the two of you have hardly met before. Even if you’ve bumped into each other at some messy soirée or ceremony, you hardly spoke, and if you did exchange a few words, they were surely just pleasantries. Even though you are indeed a beauty with both charm and appearance, the whole love at first sight scenario is, after all, quite rare these days, especially for rational and intelligent people like Shu. It’s practically impossible for him to fall head over heels for anyone at first sight. So from this perspective, he really can’t be serious about you."

Emily furrowed her brow and asked softly, "Are these your words, or did he say them?"

"My words."

Motan shrugged nonchalantly, smiling playfully. "Actually, what he wanted me to pass on was a different set of words, extremely alluring and a textbook example of courtship. I just chose to tell the truth instead, because nine times out of ten, what’s on His Highness’s mind is exactly what I’ve just said."

"Are you sure you’re here to help Shu propose a marriage alliance to me?"

Emily looked at Motan with a peculiar expression, suspiciously asking, "And not to mess up his good intentions?"

"Er, actually, I am here to mess it up."

Motan looked earnestly at Emily, speaking gravely, "Because I like you as well, so I don’t want to see you two together."

Deku shivered, fighting the urge not to slap him.

Emily, on the other hand, appeared quite composed, "You’re quite humorous, Mr. Dabus."

"Alright, I admit I lied."

Motan rolled his eyes and spread his hands. "Actually, it’s Prince whom I like, so I don’t want to see you two together."

"Wow!!"

The previously composed Crystal Wolf Duke suddenly lit up, grabbing Double Leaf’s hand as she exclaimed in a hushed voice, "How romantic!"

The latter looked on with hollow laughter, "He’s lying to you..."

"Cough, of course I know that."

Emily coughed dryly, resettled herself properly, and tried to look at Motan with a stern rather than affectionate gaze. "Let’s put an end to the jokes. Tell me why you are doing this."

"As you wish."

Motan nodded slightly, then looked at her with a half-smiling gaze. "I chose to speak the truth directly because I suddenly realized, if I were to relay it as His Highness instructed, with all those affectionate declarations, you’d be very likely to accept on the spot. So I just went with the truth."

Emily raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, "And what makes you think so?"

"Let’s see, from what I observed, Duke, the moment you learned of my intentions, you almost subconsciously changed ’His Highness’ to ’Shu’, and since you currently don’t have any other object of affection, and considering the performance of the Second Prince at the Purple Jiu hall which was quite dashing, it made you unconsciously ripple with a bit of spring feelings." Motan snapped his fingers, his tone leisurely, "Add to this his mastery of language to move a woman’s heart, I think there’s at least a sixty percent chance you’d agree because of some impulsive and highly irrational emotion, which is not a good outcome."

Emily’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she spoke in a somewhat stiff tone, "Even if what you say makes some sense, what exactly is that so-called good outcome?"

"It is a political marriage where reason far outweighs emotion."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Motan gave his response, gently waggling his forefinger as he said, "This brings me to the second point I want to explain, which is precisely why His Highness the Prince genuinely wants to marry the Duchess of the Crystal Wolf Family."

Emily took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as much as possible, and then gave Motan a slight nod, "I’d like to hear the details."

"Very well, then please answer a question for me first."

Motan, looking into her deeply concentrated eyes, asked in a calm voice, "How much does the Crystal Wolf Family’s strength differ from that of the Duntis family?"

"Significantly, if the Crystal Wolf Family is rated a 10, the Duntis family would be at least a 50. Aside from the size of our territories being similar, we are far inferior to the Duntis family in every other aspect, especially after the death of our father."

Emily responded without batting an eyelid.

Motan nodded and asked again, "What about at the height of the Crystal Wolf Family’s prosperity? How did it compare to the Duntis family’s foundation then?"

This time, Emily did not answer immediately but pondered for a short while before saying in a slower voice, "Even at the zenith of the Crystal Wolf Family’s power, there was still a significant gap compared to the current Duntis family."

"And why is that?"

Motan broke into a smile.

"You mean..."

Emily was a smart person; she had already grasped what Motan was getting at with the first question, so she showed no surprise.

"Correct. It’s because the Duntis family has been on good terms with the Violet Family for generations, and they’ve always had marital ties, including the prematurely deceased former queen and His Majesty King Krevor. History records countless marriages between the two, enough to regard them as one family." Motan grinned leisurely, "Even though the so-called Royal Family is only a name without substance, they still possess many intangible resources. They may not have the chance to use those things themselves, but it’s different if they’re used to aid another non-royal family."

Emily chuckled softly, shaking her head, "Since you’ve said it yourself: that the Duntis family and the Violet Family have been on good terms for generations, do you think things will change after Prince Bresen and I are wed? Don’t you think other families have had the same idea for years?"

"It’s not about whether they’ve thought of it, but even if they did, they couldn’t do it."

Motan chuckled, shrugging, "A tacit agreement that has lasted for centuries can’t be so easily broken. Moreover, the connection between the two families has long since transcended mere marital ties. The Violet and Duntis are like dye thoroughly mixed in a single vat, impossible to separate."

Emily furrowed her brows slightly, puzzled, "If you are well aware of that, then why..."

"Because Si En Bresen is planning to dispose of that vat of dye."

Motan blinked, saying nonchalantly, "To overturn everything from the past and start anew with a fresh vat, and the Crystal Wolf Family... if you seize the opportunity, could take the place the Duntis family once held, to some extent."

"Why to some extent?"

Emily caught the undertone in Motan’s words and asked emotionlessly.

But it wasn’t Motan who replied...

"Because Prince Si En Bresen will not tolerate combining his color with someone else’s; he will only dye the Crystal Wolf in his own hue, as well as Baroka, Simon, Fernan, or whatever else. Accept it and you will be conquered, assimilated; refuse and you’ll be crushed before being discarded, vat and all."

Double Leaf smacked her lips, her eyes behind her glasses reflecting a new seriousness...

"My, my, our Prince is truly something else, isn’t he?"

Chapter 527: The End