Chapter 39 - 38: Push and Pull and Probing

Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Push and Pull and Probing

Lucian turned to look, the wariness on his face vanishing the moment he recognized the girl.

"Lilia Sifris." He stated her name with perfect accuracy and stepped toward her. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Lilia offered a soft smile. "You guessed right."

Lucian paused.

"Guessed right?" he wondered. He suddenly recalled their last encounter at the entrance of Zone S. When he had asked for her name, Lilia had replied with just two words:

"Take a guess."

A smirk lifted the corners of Lucian’s lips as he leaned casually against a nearby tree trunk. Looking down at the beaming girl, he asked, "Since I guessed right, is there a reward?"

"A reward?" Lilia pretended to think for a moment. "Your reward is that I won’t tell anyone about what just happened."

"And if I hadn’t recognized you, who were you planning to tattle to?" Lucian asked, his tone deceptively casual. "Count Beaumont? Or Duke Englis?"

Lilia blinked. He was still probing.

He was nothing like the easygoing person the rumors made him out to be. Lilia could tell that even if he had a good first impression of her, every word he spoke right now was laced with heavy guard. But that was fine. After all, this was their first official meeting, and she needed to test the waters with him as well.

"I haven’t decided yet. The whole thing happened rather suddenly, didn’t it?"

"You don’t look like someone who hasn’t decided."

Playing dumb wasn’t going to work.

"You’re overthinking it, Senior. I’m not the type to tell tales."

"Are you sure?"

Pretending to be an innocent little lamb wouldn’t work either.

Lilia feigned a troubled sigh. "Alright... I would tell Duke Englis."

Lucian watched her with a smile, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Lilia didn’t keep him guessing. "This banquet is a birthday party Duke Englis is throwing for his favorite youngest daughter, and he takes it very seriously. If I can help him nip any unstable elements in the bud, he would certainly be very pleased.

"Who knows? I might even be able to use this connection with Duke Englis as a stepping stone to climb higher."

Lucian watched her in silence. After a moment, he asked again, "If telling on me brings you so many benefits, why did you decide to cover for me instead?"

"Because you aren’t necessarily a bad person," Lilia replied, having prepared her excuse long ago. "Besides, you might be able to bring me even greater benefits.

"After all, adding a jewel to a crown is nothing compared to offering a lifeline in a storm, wouldn’t you agree?"

As her words faded, a notification appeared.

[Lucian’s Favorability has increased.]

"Tsk," Lilia scoffed inwardly. He actually liked it when people played mind games with him? What a unique preference.

Lucian’s smile didn’t waver. Taking a step forward, he closed the distance between them. "Then I might have to disappoint you. I am indeed an uninvited guest, not exactly the ’not necessarily a bad person’ you assumed.

"They call this a birthday banquet and claim that any guest who sincerely wishes Miss Englis a happy birthday will be welcomed and treated well. But in reality, securing an invitation still requires crossing a considerably high threshold.

"The Williams family has long fallen from grace. Just as you suspected, I was not invited."

He leaned in, gazing directly into Lilia’s eyes. "Even so... are you still going to keep my secret?"

High in the sky, a bright moon hung suspended. The young man’s lake-green eyes, usually clear and bright, now seemed shrouded in a layer of shadow.

Lilia met his gaze. "I can’t help it." Her tone was light and breezy. "Who told you to guess my name correctly?"

Though phrased as a rhetorical question, the underlying meaning was crystal clear.

Lucian showed no signs of being moved. Instead, he frowned slightly. "It’s just a name..."

He didn’t finish the sentence. He suddenly realized something.

No. It wasn’t just a name.

Lilia certainly knew it was impossible for him to know her name purely by guessing. The fact that he could state it accurately during their second meeting proved he had investigated her beforehand. Because he investigated her, he knew her identity. That was why he was willing to stand in this deserted backyard and talk with her for so long.

If she had been a complete stranger, he would have likely run through his full routine of threats, intimidation, and psychological manipulation to ensure she kept her mouth shut before turning on his heel and leaving. Therefore, in Lilia’s eyes, the name he had blurted out wasn’t just a name—it was a token of trust, signaling his willingness to engage with her further.

By the same logic, the reason Lilia was still here, exchanging probing remarks with him... didn’t that mean she actually shared the exact same intentions?

Right. She had never hidden it.

From the very beginning, she had explicitly stated that she wasn’t telling on him because "he might be able to bring her even greater benefits." More of the benefits she desired.

Sure enough, she spoke up.

Lilia smiled. "Since you weren’t invited, even if you managed to sneak in right now, you’d eventually be thrown out.

"Perhaps just in a slightly more dignified manner.

"You went out of your way to come to this banquet. You certainly don’t want to slink away with your tail between your legs, do you?"

The girl’s faint smile, bathed in the moonlight, made her look like a beautiful, holy Angel statue at the center of a sanctuary. Yet, the words coming from her mouth were utterly blunt and unforgiving. It was a straightforward assessment without any emotional bias, but hearing it somehow made one want to grind their teeth in frustration.

Lucian ground his back teeth. "So, as long as I listen to you, I won’t be sent packing in disgrace?

"But as far as I know, you seem to be nothing more than a maid for the Beaumont family..." He asked deliberately, "What makes you so confident that you can convince Duke Englis to let me stay?"

Lilia looked the picture of innocence. "If you don’t believe me, you’re free to leave right now. I won’t stop you."

Lucian was left momentarily speechless.

"Alright." He let out a defeated laugh. "Since you put it that way, wouldn’t it be a waste of your goodwill if I didn’t at least give it a try?

"However..." He stepped even closer, a smile of elegant charm playing on his lips. "You won’t tell me the method, but what about the reason?"

Lucian lowered his voice. His voice was already deep and magnetic. Intentionally hushed, his gentle whispers mingled with the autumn night breeze, creating an atmosphere that was exceptionally intimate and alluring.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked softly.

Facing his final probe, Lilia merely smiled and gave the exact same answer as before.

"Take a guess."

Even until the very end, Lilia didn’t tell him her reason. And Lucian didn’t ask again.

The two of them returned to the banquet hall together. The striking pair of a handsome young man and a beautiful girl immediately drew the attention of the guests the moment they walked through the doors.

The crowd quickly recognized who they were. One was the "maid" of the Beaumont family whom Lady Beaumont treated as her own daughter, and the other was Lucian Williams, the heir to the fallen Duke Family.

The fact that Lucian hadn’t made an appearance at the very beginning already spoke volumes about Duke Englis’s attitude toward him. He might not bear any malice toward the Williams family, but he certainly felt they weren’t worth winning over.

Therefore, even though Lucian had finally shown up, the Nobles stood at a distance, watching with cold indifference. Not a single person showed any intention of stepping forward to strike up a conversation.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew noticeably chilly.