Chapter 58: Threatening
Aria cleared her throat aggressively at his shameless reveal. She was clearly waiting for him to laugh it off, saying he was kidding and no way a guy like him could get any girlfriend.
She continued to look at him for a few more seconds, but seeing his unbothered confidence while sipping his tea made her realise he was not joking at all.
"Three... girlfriends?" Aria asked, her mind still processing.
"Three beautiful girlfriends, Miss Aria," he clarified, as it was an important fact to be noticed.
Bang!
Aria slammed her hand onto the table and leaned forward. No way she could not accept this fictional statement.
"How in the world does an unhinged stalker like you manage to get three girlfriends in one single month?! Please tell me you are also living in the same delusional fantasy world as Reinhardt!"
Eren just casually enjoyed his tea while his new fiancée fumed. "Well, a lot of things happened during the last month, getting involved with many things that led up to my relationships with them. Maybe I am incredibly lucky too."
Aria slowly sat back into her seat, shaking her head in utter defeat. Reinhardt’s most insufferable acts for the past four days had already exhausted her, and somehow, Eren outmatched him in one single day.
"Unbelievable..." She took a sip of her tea, trying to regain her composure. "I truly wonder what kind of tragic blindness afflicted those poor women to make them fall in love with you."
"You know, my ears were still working fine, Aria. I can hear your commentary."
"Maybe I said that so you could hear."
Eren sighed with her reply, stirring tea in his hand with a lazy grin. "So, do you have any objection to my current relationship status? I mean, as my new fiancé, of course."
"I don’t have any," she clarified, her tone turning chill and calculating. "In fact, you gave me some golden opportunity to use, lord Eren."
Eren blinked. His blue-haired villainess gave him a knowing smile that told him it was not good at all. "What is it, Miss Aria? You want me to reveal my three timing relationships to the public or something?"
His lovely fiancée just shook her head slowly before saying, "No, don’t reveal that yet. I wanted to use your scandal when it’s the right time. So, just be like a good guy and act as my love-struck, faithful fiancé who wags tail around me all the time. Of course, only if you want that ’Fiancée Early Retirement Security Fee.’"
"Understood, madam," Eren answered without hesitation, knowing she wanted to use his scandal as a smoke screen to cover up whatever she was planning behind the scenes.
Aria decided it was already enough for today. She got up, stacking all the documents while having one last look at her rental fiancé. "I heard some rumours that your sister was finally cured. Is it true that you’re the one who developed the cure?"
"It was all thanks to your generous donation of Astreus stones, Miss Aria."
Norelia gave him a small smile. Although she did not know how he managed to use those pretty stones to cure her, she was proud that she was able to help the little girl wake up again. She gathered all the documents, ready to leave as quickly as possible.
"Despite your insufferable personality, I am glad to ally with you, lord Eren. Thank you for helping me to achieve my long-buried dream," she thanked him sincerely.
Eren chuckled at her gratitude, earning a confused look from her. "As much as I love to help you to become the Reddings’ ruler, Aria. My main objective to corporate you is to help the princess become ruler. From behind the scenes, of course."
She looked at him as if he was an idiot—although he really was. She sighed dejectively as she started walking towards the door. "Thanks for that also. But the only thing the princess wants from you right now is just shut up and do what I say."
Eren wasn’t bothered by her discouraging answer; instead, he just said one thing to stop her in her tracks, "I have one small piece of information."
"You have one chance to prove yourself."
"Tell Seraphina that killing one small mole by throwing him off the manor won’t change anything for her."
Eren watched as Aria’s eyes widened and in instinct, a beautiful, long blue sword materialized directly into her palm that was pressed tightly against the skin of Eren’s neck in a fraction of a second. The blade buzzed with blue sparks.
"How do you know about that?" she asked, her voice dropping into a fierce, threatening whisper. "Who leaked that to you? Answer me!"
Eren remained perfectly still beneath the buzzing steel. He casually raised his hands, maintaining his demeanor. "You know, there is a very strict legal clause in our newly signed contract stating you shouldn’t threaten your handsome, completely innocent fiancé with lethal force—"
"Shut up!" Aria shouted, her voice turning genuinely desperate. "Stop playing games, Eren! How did you know that she killed a mole? Speak!"
Eren’s playful smirk faded as he looked into her panicked golden eyes.
"If you want to protect her, tell Seraphina to immediately check on the person she loves the most. Specifically, tell her to check the daily tea being served to that person. There won’t be any lethal poison inside the cups, but she will find something far more disturbing and insidious. Tell her to investigate it in absolute secrecy. And if she finds out this is real... tell her to come see me personally."
Aria stared at him, her chest heaving as she tried to read the unreadable depths of his blue eyes. The sheer confidence in his voice was terrifying, leaving absolutely zero room for bluffing.
"If this turns out to be nothing more than a fabricated lie to manipulate us," she threatened coldly, the sword in her hand vanished, "I will not hesitate to cut your neck wide open the next time we meet."
"I don’t intend to give you that option."
Aria turned her face away, refusing to let him see the storm of anxiety brewing in her eyes, and walked out of the room, slamming the wooden door behind her.
However, as she stepped into the hallway, her footsteps faltered. Standing right outside with her arms crossed, was the tanned, pink-haired tomboy.
Emma was staring at Aria with a gaze of murderous rage, her grey eyes locked onto the noble lady like a predator tracking prey that had just threatened her master.
Aria simply gritted her teeth, ignoring the intense, suffocating pressure radiating from the knight, and walked past her, her mind completely consumed by Eren’s warning.