Su An floated over to stand beside her.
"What's wrong? Can't bear to do it? He is your real father, after all. I get it."
Silence.
"Or do you want something gentler? Poison? An accident? Let him die of illness?"
Still silence.
Su An turned his head to look at her. The profile of sixteen-year-old Lappland had already grown striking, but what lay behind those eyes was far more complicated than it had been six years ago.
Even after staying with her for nearly six years, he still could not make sense of whatever was going on between father and daughter.
The only thing Su An was certain of was that Lappland definitely hated her father.
What he could not understand was why she never actually crossed the final line.
"Lappland?"
"Su An."
"Hm?"
"He's my father."
Su An froze for a second. "What's that supposed to mean? You sure he isn't your beast trainer? Because you're definitely the one being trained."
Lappland ignored him and pushed open the door to leave.
Su An floated at her side, continuing his sales pitch. This was a major order, after all. If it ever went through, it would definitely earn him a huge amount of wish-power.
In the end, Lappland finally explained.
"He taught me swordsmanship. He gave me resources. He made me the heir to the Saluzzo family."
Su An raised a brow. "So?"
"So I'm still alive, standing here, able to talk to you, because of him."
Alright, alright. If you're going to put it like that, then anything I say after this would just be rude.
Su An spread his hands.
"Fine. Then whenever you do decide you want to kill him, let me know. I'm always open for business."
At the far end of the corridor, the butler was already waiting.
"Miss, the Texas family convoy has entered Brunello City. They are expected to arrive in about an hour."
Lappland nodded.
The butler hesitated, then added, "The master requests that you prepare yourself. Today's reception will be entirely under your charge."
Su An whistled from the side. "Oh? Promotion? Looks like he's finally letting you handle things on your own."
Lappland ignored him and only nodded once to the butler.
"Understood."
After the butler withdrew, Su An drifted in front of her and hung upside down to look at her face.
"One hour. Enough time for a bath, a change of clothes, and maybe a little thought about how to welcome your old Columbian friend."
"Mm."
"Six years without seeing her. I wonder what that little gloomy stick-in-the-mud grew into."
Lappland's steps paused for just a fraction of a second.
Su An caught it immediately and grinned.
"Oh? Nervous?"
"No."
"You are. Your ears twitched again."
"That was the wind."
"There is no wind indoors."
Lappland took a deep breath, stopped walking, and turned to look at him.
"Su An."
"Yeah?"
"If you don't shut up right now, I'm going to make a wish for you to shut up."
Su An instantly lit up.
"Please do. Hurry up. Give me a proper wish."
The emotion embedded in that burst of wish-power told him he had guessed right.
"Shut up."
Su An immediately shut his mouth and mimed zipping it closed, though the infuriating grin on his face never faded.
An hour later, at the main gate of the Saluzzo estate—
Lappland stood there with several family members behind her.
She had changed into formal clothes. Her silver hair was neatly draped over her shoulders, and her expression was exactly the same as it had been six years ago:
None at all.
Floating beside her, Su An—his senses strengthened by wish-power—picked up a familiar presence almost immediately and kept glancing toward the far end of the road.
Why's that penguin here too? Looking for me to fix another record?
At the end of the road, a black car slowly approached, bearing the crest of the Texas family.
Sixteen-year-old Texas was a full head taller than she had been six years ago. Her long brown hair hung over her shoulders, and she wore a simple, sharp Columbian-style outfit.
Su An's eyes drifted downward on instinct.
Shorts... black stockings?
His target-acquisition instincts had apparently failed to switch off. Naturally, he made no effort to hide where he was looking. Most people could not see him anyway.
He had to admit, both wolves had developed a distinctive sense of style.
Lappland wore long robes over a short skirt, with bare legs.
Texas wore shorts, suspenders, and black tights.
Su An took in the sight with shameless appreciation, his gaze sweeping upward from Texas's ankles as he muttered inwardly, That young lady from Columbia has a pretty distinctive way of dressing...
Then suddenly, a stare locked onto him.
Su An felt it at once and followed it back.
A penguin.
Standing at the end of the road, hidden off to the side, the Emperor gave him a throat-slitting gesture.
Oh? So the penguin had an opinion.
Seeing that Lappland was busy chatting and not paying attention to him, Su An decided to float over and catch up with the Emperor.
The Emperor stood on a stone post by the roadside, his stubby little wings folded across his chest, looking thoroughly displeased.
Su An floated over with a bright smile.
"Well, well, if it isn't the famous Emperor himself. What wind blew you all the way to Siracusa? Another broken record?"
"Cut the crap. What were you staring at just now?"
"Staring at what? Why do you care what I was staring at? If you don't like it, hit me."
The Emperor fell silent.
The truth was, he really had no way of dealing with Su An.
The Emperor had lived a long time and seen plenty, but this transparent thing drifting around in front of him was one of the few things he genuinely could not handle.
Get someone to beat him up? They could not even touch him.
Get someone to curse him out? Most people could not even see him. Do it himself? This bastard practically lived for conversation.
Ignore him? Su An had an exceptional talent for irritating people. Once he latched on, it was nearly impossible to shake him off.
In short, he was completely untargetable.
The Emperor took a deep breath and decided to change tactics.
"What's your deal with that little wolf brat?" He jerked his beak toward Lappland. "New client?"
Su An glanced back over his shoulder.
"Something like that. I've stuck with her for six years and the return's been pathetic, though lately I've been getting more clients, so time's getting harder to manage."
The Emperor had been planning to threaten him over the client angle, but what surprised him was that this little wolf seemed... somewhat special to Su An?
"Six years? You've spent six damn years on one client?"
Su An spread his hands.
"I felt like it. Besides... six years is only the blink of an eye."
The Emperor said nothing for a while. He just stared at Su An.
"I don't care what you're planning. But that little wolf brat—I watched her grow up."
"Things in Columbia are unstable. That old bastard Salvadore sent her back to Siracusa because he thinks it's safer here."
"If you dare pull anything on her—"
Before he could finish, Su An had already floated right up in front of him, face to face, nose to nose, though of course neither of them actually touched.
"Then what?" Su An asked with a cheerful smile. "You gonna hit me?"
The Emperor: "..."
"You gonna curse me out?"
The Emperor: "....."
"You gonna find someone to cut me down?"
The Emperor: "..."
Su An spread his hands.
"See? There's nothing you can do to me. So stop with the useless threats. We've known each other for years now. When have you ever seen me cheat a client?"
"...You really are the most punchable thing I've ever met."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Su An retreated in satisfaction.
"But seriously, that little wolf's got potential. I think highly of her."
"What exactly do you think highly of?"
"I think highly of the fact that one day she'll bring me a very big order."
"You know the kind. A wish strong enough, with enough power behind it, to count as a real premium job."
The Emperor fell silent again.
It wasn't as if he didn't know Su An was gathering wish-power. He also knew what Su An intended to do with it.
The man never hid that part. If anything, he liked to spell it out clearly—made it easier to negotiate, easier to take orders, easier to cooperate.
He barely had any clients at all.
But without exception, every one of them was what he called a "high-quality client."
In the end, the Emperor asked quietly:
"What is it you actually want?"
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