After escaping from the two furious lionesses who had genuinely enjoyed tormenting him, Grey once again stood before the familiar door to Lady Veronika's chambers.
He did not take his brief quarrel with Monica and Lydia seriously and wore a cheerful smile. Problems like these were quite refreshing compared to what he had gotten himself involved in lately.
This was how a man should live! Invest money, hoping to make a profit, tease ladies from time to time, and give an honest report to his superior instead of living on the edge, flinching at every rustle in a dark forest.
Grey casually spun the silver coin left over from settling accounts with the mercenaries between his fingers, as if he were playing with a poker chip. This simple exercise improved his fine motor skills and helped clear away useless thoughts.
Pinching the coin between his thumb and index finger, he raised his hand and knocked.
He was not worried in the slightest about the upcoming conversation with Lady Veronika. Unlike Junior, who feared her like fire, Senior genuinely valued her company.
This famous courtesan was like a breath of fresh air to him. She never stopped teasing him, yet Grey knew for certain that if he dared to take liberties with her, he would get nothing but a beating. She was not as frivolous as she wanted to appear.
"Perhaps that's why I'm so desperately eager to get closer to her... Reverse psychology? A desire to conquer? Who knows? Or maybe I really did fall in love at first sight... She really is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Should I even bother thinking about it?" Grey silently wondered as he waited for a response.
Unlike the other girls, he felt more than lust toward her. He was genuinely fascinated by her. He desperately wanted to win her favor and conquer her heart. The drive and excitement he felt whenever he interacted with her were indescribable.
Because he had stopped feeling positive emotions after his transmigration, he could clearly understand the difference.
Only Lady Veronika could dispel his longing for his homeworld. It was only with her that he truly felt at ease. He cared little about cause and effect, and his mind simply refused to work in her presence.
And that feeling was enough for him to ignore every warning and seek contact again and again with the woman Junior had so desperately begged him to avoid.
Grey completely ignored the fact that Veronika was a true priestess of the Goddess of Love from the pantheon that wanted to destroy him. He completely ignored her profession as a courtesan, which he despised with all his heart. He even ignored the risk that he might reveal his true identity as a transmigrator or the Child of Prophecy to her.
Like a moth flying toward a flame, he eagerly awaited their next meeting, genuinely glad that Junior was inactive and simply could not stop him.
The prohibitions, inner conflicts, and potential risks of their relationship only fueled his interest.
Love was simply that irrational.
"Come in," a beautiful voice sounded from behind the door.
Grey opened the door and was surprised to see that today Lady Veronika was not sitting on her usual couch with a glass of wine. Instead, she was gazing thoughtfully out the window while her elegant fingers plucked the strings of a harp.
The sound was so quiet that he could not hear it through the closed door.
And yet, the melody was very beautiful, as if an innocent girl were longing for her beloved.
For a split second, Grey felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if he could not accept that the woman who interested him already had a lover, but he quickly cast the thought aside.
His thoughts took a completely different turn.
'It's just a melody. What am I even thinking about? Perhaps Lady Veronika is simply playing a famous song or trying to learn a new piece. I'm not even a musician, so who am I to judge her mood through music? Such little things shouldn't concern a transmigrator like me.'
And yet, he could not help but ask:
"Madam, are you longing for someone?"
"What makes you think that?" Lady Veronika asked in return.
"The melody is too sad..." Grey replied after some thought. "Although it's autumn outside and the mood matches the season quite well, I feel like there's too much longing in your melody. As if a beautiful flower had withered unnaturally, as if it had been plucked by force, its petals torn off one by one and thrown to the roadside like unwanted things."
Veronika raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I didn't know you understood music, Alex. Your family taught you well..."
Grey nearly choked.
For the first time in a long while, someone had called him by the name he had casually used as a cover for his true identity.
That did not mean he had stopped hiding. On the contrary, he still introduced himself as Alexander Greyrot to strangers. Yet, by some damn strange coincidence, everyone around him had grown accustomed to calling him by his "nickname," Grey, and he sometimes forgot that no one except Lili knew his real name.
"I can't call myself an expert. But at our family estate, I heard too many melodies not to know how to distinguish their moods," he said. He lied again, but he was also telling the truth.
In his homeworld, music was not considered a privilege of the noble class, and anyone with even a little self-respect could instinctively understand the meaning of a melody from just a few notes.
But the truth was in the eyes of the listener. The same words could carry completely different information for two different people. Without knowing the context, it was almost impossible to tell truth from lies, no matter how much of an expert you were.
Likewise, Lady Veronika, despite all her power, knowledge of human nature, and heightened senses, could never have imagined that she was speaking with someone from a completely different world.
"I see. Noble children really are well educated, even if their families have lost their status." She gave Grey another compliment or perhaps dropped another hint.
Grey did not know. He was thinking in a different direction.
"Lady Veronika, you didn't answer my previous question," he insisted.
"Hehe, you rascal, you're awfully curious today," she playfully poked him in the forehead with her finger. "I've lived for hundreds of years. Of course I have a man I miss. What true lady doesn't? What? Are you jealous?"
Lady Veronika smiled cheerfully and teased the boy without giving it much thought.
But Grey was not at all happy with her answer.
He simply froze in place, as if someone had stolen his soul. His fists clenched tightly, bending the silver coin in half, while his black pupil throbbed slightly, trying to swallow the cornea.
At that moment, he felt what it meant to fall from heaven into hell in a split second. But the very next second, his thoughts became crystal clear, as if nothing had happened at all.
'She already has someone she loves? Well, how wonderful that I don't give a damn.
There's no one else here right now. And I'm absolutely sure she doesn't accept clients.
My good friend, I'm grateful to you for letting such a flower bloom for me. Who knows how much harder things would have been if her heart had been open? Countless rivals would be swarming around her like annoying bugs. But right now, there's only me here.
This is an opportunity I can't afford to miss.
I will win her heart, no matter what it costs me.
You think you've won just because you got here first? Hehe, how naive...
Sorry, but all is fair in love and war. I'm not going to retreat. I even went against my second personality, so why should I fear some country bumpkin who doesn't know how to appreciate the love of a woman like this?'
The black pupil stopped throbbing. Grey looked at Lady Veronika again. She was waving a hand in front of his face because he had stopped responding.
"Hey, kid, are you alright? Why are you so quiet? Did big sister accidentally break your little heart?"
Grey smirked and suddenly caught her hand.
He quickly brought her soft hand to his lips, kissed it, and stepped back.
"Hehe, Lady Veronika, you should value yourself more. Why worry about some nobody who doesn't know how lucky he is? He simply isn't worthy of your beautiful music," Grey did not answer directly. He was not a naive boy and knew exactly how to flirt properly if he wanted to succeed.
Showing jealousy and tender feelings to a woman who did not see you as a man was just as taboo as criticizing her appearance.
It was best to keep your distance while staying close at the same time, as if you were performing a dance. Gradually heat up the atmosphere with ambiguity. And only when your potential partner showed the first signs of interest should you make one decisive move and immediately reach the final base.
So when Veronika replied:
"What lofty words. Perhaps you could give me some advice? Where should I find true love?"
Grey laughed again, utterly carefree.
"Hahaha, how would a teenager like me know the answer to such a difficult question? You should wait until I come of age. Perhaps then I'll be able to help you. I'm only certain that if someone in Thorn's Cloaca found out that Your Splendor had already given her heart to someone else, that poor fellow would become everyone's enemy in an instant..."
"Hahaha, only in Thorn's Cloaca? Do you think my strength and beauty aren't enough to destroy one or two empires?" Lady Veronika laughed cheerfully, twirling a black curl around her finger.
Grey already knew the answer without even thinking.
"Hahaha, of course not, Lady Veronika. I'm sure that if you dared to hold a tournament for your hand and heart, the destruction would be no less than that caused by a demon invasion of the human continent."
Lady Veronika's smile grew even brighter, resembling a spring flower in full bloom.
Although this boy was absolutely shameless, she had to give him credit. He certainly knew how to say pleasant things. She could not stay angry with him for long.
Grey silently stared at her as if he had been hypnotized.
That smile was simply too beautiful... If that smile could be turned into a rifle sight, every shot would hit the heart with a 100% probability.
"I didn't know noble children were now taught to sweet-talk people. Why are you being so sweet today? Are you planning to spend my money again?"
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