Chapter 79: My handsome fiance
"And how... precisely," Seraphina whispered coldly, "am I supposed to trust a man like you?"
"Tell me what it takes," Eren replied without missing a beat. "How do I earn it?"
After three seconds of thinking, the freezing aura vanished instantly. Ice shards dissolved into fine mist and the room’s temperature returned to normal as if the apocalypse never happened.
Aria let out a sigh of relief, slumping back slightly against her chair while adjusting her dress.
Seraphina returned to her royal posture. She met Eren’s gaze with an unyielding, icy glint.
"Make no mistake, Eren Volsver," Seraphina stated smoothly, resting her chin on her hand. "I do not trust you. I will not trust you tomorrow, nor will I trust you even after you are buried six feet beneath the soil. However..."
A simple yet dangerous smirk appeared at the corner of her beautiful lips. "You have proven yourself far too interesting and far too useful to execute today. So for now, I shall simply utilize you as my personal asset."
"So... should we begin interrogating every staff member stationed in the Empress’s Rose Wing immediately?" Aria asked, curious.
Eren shook his head, taking a slow sip of water to clear his throat. "No. Whoever placed a high-level covert operative didn’t hire a bottom-tier rookie. A direct interrogation won’t yield results. An operative like that won’t spill with few questions, and they certainly won’t leave evidence lying around."
"What is your proposed course of action, then? Are you suggesting we simply sit on our hands while a parasite continues to poison my mother?" the white haired villainess asked immediately.
"Hardly," Eren replied with confidence. He turned towards his blue-haired fiancée. "We catch them red-handed. We may not be able to monitor every shadow in that wing with our own eyes and ears... but I happen to possess two specialized assets that can handle the job flawlessly.
I’ll transfer the assets to Aria tomorrow morning along with instructions. Give me forty-eight hours, and we’ll have our culprit walk into trap."
Seraphina stared at him for a long moment. She didn’t know the exact nature of his mysterious ’assets,’ but in this situation, he was the only one she could lend on.
She sighed gracefully, pushing back her chair and standing up with effortless poise.
"I have already allocated far more time to this meeting than you could deserve," she noted, turning toward the exit. She paused briefly as her eyes met his one last time. "Do not overestimate yourself, Eren Volsver. I still harbour a deep hate for men, and you remain very much on that list."
Eren didn’t get hurt by the words of his villainess. Instead, he gave her a gentle counter.
"If I may offer one piece of advice before you go, Your Highness... stop thinking over why your mother treats you with such icy distance. Searching for affection in that room will only hold you back. Trust the process and wait for the truth to surface in due time."
Seraphina’s high heels abruptly froze mid-stride. She stood silent for two seconds before the silver-haired princess resumed her walk, and doors shut soundlessly behind her.
A few moments later, the private dining room’s staff arrived, expertly serving an absolute feast of premium food.
Eren was still on a severe calorie deficit after an intense political warfare and a night of even more intense physical exertion. He wasted zero time. He immediately dug in like a man on a mission.
Aria simply sat across from him, her chin resting on her palm, staring at him in speechless bewilderment.
Eren paused mid-bite, glancing up from his plate. "What? Is there sauce on my face?"
Aria took a slow bite of her own meal, shaking her head. "Are you genuinely insane, Eren? Last week, I nearly ran a rapier through your throat because you let your tongue slip during our contract negotiations. Today, you backed the single most dangerous, cold-blooded Imperial Princess into a corner until she almost pierced your skull. Do you possess a suicidal compulsion to attract hostility from powerful women?"
"Maybe," Eren smirked casually, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "But hey... the outcome was a total success, wasn’t it?"
"Do you truly feel no fear whatsoever?"
Eren’s fork hovered over his plate for a brief second.
"I’m terrified all the time, Miss Aria," Eren confessed, his tone entirely devoid of bravado. "I’m terrified of losing everything I’ve scraped together in this life. I’m terrified of failing the girls who rely on me... and I’m terrified of losing my sister, who only just woke up from a living nightmare. That fear doesn’t paralyze me. It forces me to act boldly. It forces me to win."
Aria stared at him, something fundamental shifting in the way she looked at the young man sitting across the table.
Throughout her life, she had encountered countless men. She had seen men as greedy as Eren, men as shamelessly perverted as Eren, and men as recklessly arrogant as Eren.
But there was one unique factor separating Eren Volsver from every single one of them.
Behind his chaotic, unhinged antics and his sarcastic, calculating mind... was a man who cared with a fierce, unbreakable intensity for the people on his side. And to a girl who had grown up surrounded by cold, transactional politics, that rare quality was far more dangerous than any sword he could ever draw.
After the date concluded, Eren walked his fiancée back toward the female dormitories.
For the first time all day, there were no cold political talks and no hidden agendas. It was just a surprisingly peaceful stroll through the academy grounds. They walked side by side, exchanging curious questions about life, light banter, and the occasional probing query from Aria regarding his situation with his three ’beautiful’ girlfriends.
Upon arriving at the dormitory entrance, Aria turned around to face him with a smile.
"Thank you for accompanying me today, Eren," she said softly. "It turned out to be a wonderful date."
Eren scratched the back of his neck, chuckling dryly. "I honestly don’t know if it’s considered a standard date, but I’ll take your word for it."
"I am grateful for what you did for Seraphina as well," Aria added, her tone turning warm and sincere. "She may be stubborn and cold on the outside, but she truly cares for her mother. Your help means more to her than she will ever admit."
She took a step closer to him and gently combed back his messy hair, looking at his handsome features completely.
Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint as she admired his features. "No wonder that tall swordmaster of yours got jealous when I kissed you back at the Volsver manor."
Eren blinked, his brain taking a full second to process her words. "Wait, what—?"
Aria simply spun on her heel and casually strolled up the dorm steps, waving her gloved hand.
"Goodbye, darling! Let us meet again for our next date soon!"
Eren stood alone, his hand still hovering near his forehead. Wondering if this was another one of her propaganda.