Chapter 12 – Into the Lion’s Den (2)
“Why are you drenched?” Lacias took off his coat right after noticing how soaked Lila was on seeing the rain-soaked Lila. He warmly wrapped his coat around her with a calm smile on his face.
“Wear this.”
The situation was getting awkward for Lila. She couldn’t understand why he was treating her this way, even though he was described as a cold-blooded man by both the book and people. What kind of cold-blooded man would give her a jacket to wear when she was wet. She still had her doubts about if this was his true self.
Be that as it may, his charm was undeniable. There were not many men in this world that were so handsome that they were almost blinding. He could have easily been placed in the star-bright sky on a beautiful night and no one would know the difference. They would actually keep their eyes on it because of how marvelous it looks. He had a dark fine hair that was somehow clear as day. His sapphire-colored eyes could catch you looking at them for hours. Not to mention his sleek noes and well-defined jaw.
When he took off his coat, his tight chest muscles were slightly exposed through that thin shirt of his. They just added to his extraordinary charm, she now understood why that princess looking woman was following him around with a dazed appearance. When reading the book, Lila thought Lacias’ description was exaggerated and too fancy. As such, his appearance was too perfect for a human being. But now that she saw him first-hand she knew that she was terribly wrong. If anything, he looked more perfect than the book had described him
“It’s alright, Your Highness, Duke Weifel. I just wanted to sit down and talk.”
“Ah, I was expecting you Lila. Why are you being so formal now? You really don’t have to.”
Lila stared directly into his dazzling eyes, trying to read whatever expression came out of him, but she found nothing. That must have been sarcasm. She knew that he was trying to be nice, from how absurd it was for someone to just show up to his mansion without any prior discussion, and even that would have been the wrong thing to do. He was putting on the “evil fox” act as if playing with his food. Yes, he was definitely being sarcastic.
“I’m sorry about that. If I didn’t do that, I didn’t think you’d ever hold a meeting to see me.”
“You’re not entirely wrong. I was actually wondering why you came to see me now.”
Lila noticed that the minute she apologized he went back to the look that he had before the sarcastic remark, as if it never even happened, he just let out a silent laugh and didn’t pursue the matter further. Lila just began to notice a sweet aroma in the room and she found the source in her efforts of locating it. There were two teacups on a small dining table. Freshly made clearly as hot steam was still pouring out of it.
“Ah so you noticed the smell of the tea. Try it. You’ll like it.”
Lila didn’t want to sway from her goal at all, she only glanced at the tea for a moment showing no interest in her face, before returning to the reason why she was here in the first place.
“I have a suggestion,” she said while pushing the teacup slightly to the side
“Go ahead.”
“There’s a spy in the mansion, right?” she said casually
Lacias was clearly stricken off guard for a moment from the question, as he stopped raising his teacup to his mouth. But he quickly tried to cover up his state by slowly sipping back at his tea. He sat in silence acting like he was savoring the scent of the tea, while in reality he was thinking of a tangent to make off of the topic at hand. However, it was clear that the woman before him was quite sharp herself. He chose silence as his best option.
“The information was leaked by a rat,” said Lila expecting him to ignore her.
“…”
“Am I wrong?”
Lacias smiled widely, He respected her assertive way of speaking and methods of prying answers out of people. But he was no ordinary person. As Lacias shrugged silently, Lila continued her words with a more confident look.
“The diamond mine was handed over to the Hiln family, so the spy must’ve caused the Weifel family a great deal.”
“Hmm, it seems you have information about us down to the detail, so it would seem that you are not lying.” He leaned closer to Lila’s face, with his elbows resting back before continuing.
“Did the rat in the mansion sell you information? How long do you plan on playing the game like this? ”
Lila felt like a mouse trapped in a cage, ready to be tested on, tested on by Lacias no less. She knew it was dangerous for her to go on, but she couldn’t let him know for sure that he had the upper hand. Trying hard to keep all panic out of her voice, Lila replied in a dry voice.
“No, I didn’t buy any information.”
“I see.”
“I can tell you who the rat is though.” Added Lila.
Lila was thankful that she began to see interest in the eyes of the beast before her, she knew from the original novel that Lacias was troubled by a leak in his information caused by a secret spy in the estate. Lacias was sharp and always focused on each of his subordinates. But the spy was so thorough that Lacias didn’t know if he would be able to find him before it was too late. So fixing the leak in information would be of great value for Lacias at the moment.
“If you sign a contract with me, I’ll set you up with a rattrap. It’s very effective.”
“That does seem quite tempting.” Lacias slurred…