Chapter 95: A Tempting Proposal.
The woman guided Noah out of the dining room and they walked to a private room normally used for council meetings.
The woman opened the door.
"Wait here."
Noah entered.
The room was small, so there was a long table with several chairs, a screen, and bottles of water.
Noah took a seat.
’Maybe it’s about the campaign.’
There was also another possibility.
’Or Iris.’
If Aria already had history with Iris, she might know that the two of them spent time together.
Noah waited several minutes and, finally, the door opened.
Aria entered alone.
"Thank you for waiting."
Noah stood up.
"No problem."
Aria closed the door and then sat across from him.
"Mr. Reed."
"Noah is fine."
"Then call me Aria."
Noah nodded.
"Alright... Aria..."
There were a few seconds of silence, after which Noah decided to start.
"Did you want to talk to me about something related to the campaign?"
"No."
"About... Iris?"
Aria’s expression shifted only slightly, but Noah noticed it.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"So you know Iris Valentine."
Noah realized he had made a mistake.
"We’re classmates."
"I see."
Aria crossed her legs.
"But I didn’t call you here because of her either."
Noah frowned.
"Then why?"
Aria looked at him directly and spoke without nerves or hesitation.
"I want you to be my fiancé."
Noah remained completely still.
"...What?"
Aria kept her serious expression.
"I want you to accept an engagement with me."
Noah took several seconds to react.
’Not again.’
He immediately remembered Nozomi, the locked room, the marriage documents, the proposal, and the threats.
Noah looked toward the door, but Aria noticed.
"It’s not locked."
"That reassures me a little... I think..."
"Did you think I was going to kidnap you?"
"It’s already happened once."
Aria blinked and, for the first time, seemed genuinely surprised.
"That explains several things."
"What things?"
"Nothing important."
Noah rested his hands on the table.
"Aria, I can’t accept."
"You haven’t even heard my offer."
"I don’t need to hear it."
"That’s not very rational."
Noah looked at her and then began to notice something.
The elegant expression was still there, the posture was still impeccable, but there was something different.
An overly intense confidence and absolute certainty.
Noah knew that side of her.
’There it is.’
In the anime, Aria had an enormous ego and it wasn’t always obvious, since she could be polite, generous, competent.
But deep down she was convinced she was better than almost anyone in front of her, and when someone rejected her, she didn’t interpret it as a simple rejection.
She interpreted it as a mistake that needed to be corrected.
Aria smiled.
"I suppose I should give you more context."
Noah stayed silent.
"You saw the debate."
"Yes."
"What did you think?"
"You’ll win without any trouble."
"There hasn’t been a vote yet."
"You know what I mean."
Aria seemed satisfied.
"Yes."
Noah observed her.
"Did you make the other candidates have access to the same resources as you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Aria rested a hand on the table.
"Because I knew you would be watching."
Noah frowned.
"What?"
"I wanted you to see that I can beat them even if I don’t have an advantage."
Noah stayed quiet and Aria continued.
"If I had only used my family’s resources, you might have thought I won because they couldn’t compete on equal terms."
Her smile increased slightly.
"So I eliminated that argument."
Noah didn’t know what to reply.
"You did all that to impress me!?"
"Partially."
"Why?"
"Because I intend to claim you."
Noah felt a chill.
"That doesn’t sound very romantic."
Aria opened a folder.
"Then let’s talk about benefits."
"No."
"Listen to them."
"Aria."
"A house of your own."
Noah stayed silent.
"Private security."
"I don’t need..."
"A monthly allowance."
Noah looked at her.
"Full legal protection."
"Why would I need that?"
"Support for your studies."
Aria turned a page.
"And a computer."
Noah stopped talking, at which Aria smiled.
"That caught your attention, didn’t it?"
"How do you know I want a computer?"
"Because I investigated."
Noah narrowed his eyes.
"You investigated?"
"Yes."
"Me?"
"Yes, who else?"
"How?"
"I hired a private investigator."
Noah went still.
"You did what!?"
"I hired a private investigator."
"I heard that part."
"Then I don’t understand the question."
"Why did you hire someone to investigate me?!"
Aria remained calm.
"Because I need information before making important decisions."
"That’s not normal!"
"For my family it is."
"That answer doesn’t make anything better!"
Aria reviewed some documents.
"I know you started working at a café."
Noah tensed.
"I know you want to save up to buy a computer."
She turned another page.
"I know you’re considering starting a channel related to video games."
Noah’s eyes widened.
"You know that too?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"The investigator is good."
"That’s terrifying."
Aria continued.
"I also know you work after classes, that your salary will take months to cover the equipment you want, and that you still haven’t decided on a final setup."
Noah thought about Iris.
’I hope she doesn’t know about the manga café.’
Aria watched him.
"I could solve all of that today."
"No."
"A high-end computer."
"I said no."
"Then two."
"I don’t need two."
"Then one will do."
"No."
Aria frowned slightly, which was the first real sign of annoyance.
"Why?"
"Because I already have a girlfriend."
Aria went silent and Noah continued.
"Besides, I’m not going to get engaged to someone I barely know."
"That can be fixed."
"Not that way."
"We can get to know each other after the engagement."
"That’s backwards."
"Depends on the family."
"Not for me."
Aria crossed her arms.
"Can your girlfriend offer you security?"
Noah thought of Yume and then of Luna.
"Believe me, too much security."
Aria didn’t understand the answer, but she continued.
"And money?"
"It doesn’t matter."
"A place to live?"
"I don’t need one."
"A computer?"
Noah looked at her.
"You’re not going to buy me with a computer."
"And with two?"
"No!"
Aria remained silent and her expression began to lose some of that perfect courtesy.
"This doesn’t make sense."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"What doesn’t?"
"That you reject me."
"That’s something that can happen."
"It shouldn’t."
There it was, Aria’s true ego.
"I’m intelligent."
"I don’t deny it."
"My family has resources."
"I already noticed."
"I have an excellent reputation."
"That too."
"I’m physically attractive."
Noah stayed silent, at which Aria tilted her head.
"You don’t agree?"
"I’m not going there."
"Then you do agree."
Noah sighed, at which Aria continued.
"Besides, I have administrative experience, connections, financial stability, and access to resources that would improve your life immediately."
"All of that may be true."
"Then accepting is the logical decision."
"And I say no."
Aria pressed her lips together slightly.
"Noah."
"Aria."
"I can improve the offer."
"You already know my answer."
"I can include a personal fund."
"No."
"Access to vehicles."
"No."
"A private studio for your streams."
Noah paused for half a second and Aria smiled.
"No."
The smile disappeared.
"You were about to accept."
"That’s not true."
"You thought about it."
"I thought it was a good offer, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get engaged to you."
Aria opened another folder.
"Then we can discuss the marriage conditions."
Noah stood up.
"I think we’re done."
"No, not yet."
"Yes, we’re done as far as I’m concerned."
"We haven’t negotiated."
"I’m not negotiating."
Aria also stood up.
"Everyone negotiates."
"Not about this."
"Everything has acceptable terms."
"My answer is no."
Aria stared at him fixedly, but Noah didn’t back down and then the door opened.
"Aria!"
Noah turned and saw that Ren was there.
His expression was completely different from usual, serious and annoyed.
Aria also changed.
For an instant, the absolute confidence disappeared for just a moment.
"Ren?"
Noah looked from one to the other.
’That didn’t sound like they barely knew each other.’
Ren entered the room.
"What are you doing?"
Aria recovered her composure.
"A private conversation."
"About what?"
Noah raised a hand.
"She asked me to become her fiancé."
Ren went still and then slowly looked at Aria.
"What!?"
Aria replied calmly.
"It’s a reasonable proposal."
Ren closed the door behind him.
"I’m not going to accept it."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"I didn’t ask for your opinion."
Ren stepped forward.
"I think you did."
Noah observed the tension between them and knew this was going to end badly.