As soon as Alex finished speaking, both Catrina and Arina froze in shock.
"Alex! What the hell are you talking about?!" Arina shouted furiously.
But Alex ignored her, his face filled with arrogant confidence as he looked straight at Elder Rotte. "I want to raise the stakes. Within one month, I'll earn one million gold coins for the family. If I succeed, from that day onward, the family will no longer have the right to interfere in our lives."
"Whether it's Arina or Catrina—you will no longer have control over their fates. All business authority will return to them."
Elder Rotte was so angry he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha… Arina, your husband truly knows how to joke. Hahaha… Good! As expected of someone chosen by the Grand Elder—I like your boldness."
"But if you fail, you'll obey the family's commands without resistance. No excuses."
"Wait!" Arina shouted. "He's not my husband! His words mean nothing!"
Elder Rotte didn't answer. Instead, he raised a small glowing crystal in his hand.
Catrina and Arina's faces instantly paled—they recognized it immediately.
A Memory Snapshot Stone—capable of recording everything that had just happened like a short magical video.
"The proof is clear," Rotte said with a mocking grin. "You have no way out now. If you surrender quietly, I can let you return to the family with dignity. Otherwise—hahahaha…"
Still laughing, he turned and left the room, leaving behind an atmosphere so heavy it was almost suffocating.
"You bastard!" Arina could no longer hold back. She swung her hand.
SLAP!
Alex didn't dodge. He stood still and took the hit.
"Are you insane?! If you want to die, fine—but don't drag me and Mother down with you!"
Alex didn't get angry. Instead, he lifted his chin proudly, his eyes full of confidence and arrogance as he looked first at Arina, then at Catrina.
"Arina, Mother," he said firmly. "I, Alex, always keep my word. I know plenty of people who can help you revive the business."
"If you don't believe me, just wait and see. It's not like you have any other choice."
When he finished, all he felt were the looks of contempt and hatred from both women. He sighed softly and thought to himself, 'Ah… a man as extraordinary as me—how could anyone truly understand me?'
'Enough talk. Words are useless now. Once my subordinates arrive, they'll see who I really am.'
Alex turned and walked away, his lonely figure retreating down the hall as though he were carrying the weight of the entire world on his back.
"Mother!" Arina rushed to Catrina's side, guilt filling her eyes. "I'm sorry… I couldn't stop him from saying that…"
Catrina shook her head gently. "It doesn't matter anymore. The damage is done. Either way, the result would have been the same—he just made the fall come faster… and harder."
Seeing the despair in her mother's eyes, Arina couldn't hold back her tears. "Mother! I'll go find Lathel. He likes me—and his mother's a Duchess. I'm sure they can help us!"
Catrina froze for a moment as Lathel's words echoed in her mind.
'If you ever face trouble, come to me—I can help you.'
Her heart wavered. She didn't want to take advantage of him, but at this point, there was no other way.
Forget one million gold coins—within a month, she couldn't even make a hundred thousand.
That made Lathel their only remaining ray of hope.
But… suddenly a painful thought struck her heart. 'If I go to him now, will he think I'm just another greedy woman? Will he hate me for it?'
Fear took hold of her.
She was terrified that Lathel would look at her with disgust—as if she were something dirty and pitiful.
Her hand rose unconsciously to her chest, clutching tightly as her body trembled.
Arina saw the look on Catrina's face and hurriedly said, "Mother! Don't worry. I'm doing this willingly—I'm not sad at all. I'll go find him, right now."
"Wait!" Catrina suddenly called out, turning toward her daughter. "I… I'll go with you."
…
"Oaw!"
Lathel yawned loudly as he lazily got out of bed, a bright grin spreading across his face as he recalled the dream from last night.
After kissing Catrina's illusion, he'd dreamed of doing… far more than that with her.
"Hehehe…"
[Could you wipe that perverted smile off your face?]
"System?!" Lathel flinched. "Perverted? I think I look quite handsome—perfectly normal, really."
[Huh! And have you ever met a dog that admits it's ugly?]
Lathel: "…"
Fine! He wouldn't argue with the System. After all, it had let him enjoy some "quality time" with Catrina's illusion last night—being called a dog was a small price to pay.
As he changed clothes, something came to mind. "Ah! I still have that S.VIP card for Spring Garden. I should go there today to… enjoy myself."
"Ack—no, no, I mean to admire the scenery of this Fantasy world, hehe…"
"Young Master!" A servant's voice suddenly called from outside. "Lady Catrina and Lady Arina are here to see you!"
"Heh?!" Lathel froze, staring blankly toward the door. What the hell? They're here? To see me? Don't tell me…
A wave of unease washed over him. "Did… did anyone come with them?" he asked nervously.
"No, sir. Only Lady Catrina and Lady Arina."
Hearing that, he exhaled in relief.
"Understood."
Once the servant's footsteps faded, he immediately turned to the System. "Hey! I still have that Active Resurrection, right?"
[Correct. In the final moments of your life, you can choose both the time and location of your resurrection.]
"Perfect!" Lathel grinned. "Then what's there to worry about? If they kill me, I'll just respawn somewhere quiet. With a million gold coins, I can live comfortably until the script ends."
"Hahahaha…"
System:[…]
…
Lathel entered the sitting room and found Arina and Catrina already waiting.
The moment Arina saw him, her eyes flared with irritation. She slammed her teacup onto the table. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?!"
Catrina sighed and shook her head. "Arina, mind your manners."
"But—" Arina wanted to argue, but when she saw her mother's stern gaze, she swallowed her words.
Lathel scratched his head awkwardly. Though he found Arina's attitude annoying, after thinking about it, he couldn't really blame her.
After all, she was destined to become Alex's woman. Only that guy had the patience to handle her temper.
As for him? What did she have to do with him, anyway?
Catrina stood up gently, her voice soft as she asked, "Lathel, last night… did you… sleep well?"
She stammered slightly, her mind flashing back to that dream—
That kiss.
That embrace.
That fiery confession.
Catrina's face suddenly turned crimson, her hands clutching the sides of her dress.
Lathel, too, felt awkward facing her—especially after what he'd done with her illusion last night.
Arina: "???"
She tilted her head, glancing between the two of them. The air between them suddenly felt… pink—awkward, flustered, and strangely intimate.
"Mother, are you… all right?" Arina asked softly.
Catrina blinked, snapping back to her senses as she suddenly remembered—her daughter was still right there.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her wildly beating heart.
Lathel, hearing Arina's words, also snapped back to his senses and thought to himself, 'Lathel, calm down. Last night was just the illusion of Catrina created by the System—it wasn't really her. Stop overthinking it.'
After giving himself that little pep talk, he relaxed a bit and smiled. "I slept very well last night. Even had a beautiful dream."
'A beautiful dream?'
Catrina's heart, which had only just begun to calm down, started pounding again like a war drum. 'Does he mean… he had the same dream I did? Could it be…'
Her breathing quickened, her lips trembling as she asked softly, "A beautiful dream… what kind of dream?"
"Ah!" Lathel grinned. "I dreamed that I was kissing the woman I love."
BANG!
It felt as though a bolt of lightning struck straight into Catrina's heart, blowing it apart. Her mind froze—completely overloaded.
"Ew!" Arina scoffed, curling her lip. "Disgusting! Can you not? Even in your dreams, you can't stop bothering me?"
Lathel: "…"
He sighed. "Not you. Don't flatter yourself."
"Huh!" Arina snorted. "You think I'll believe that? For the past two years, you haven't loved anyone but me."
Lathel stayed silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Relax. I won't bother you anymore—and I won't dream about you either, okay?"
Arina shot him a disgusted look, as if staring at something filthy. "Good. And stop looking at me with those lecherous eyes. It's revolting."
Lathel: "…"
He really wanted to curse her out—but he restrained himself. After all, she was Alex's woman. If he said the wrong thing, that mutt would probably come here just to break his legs.
"All right, enough. Why are you two here today?" Lathel asked, frowning.
Arina and Lathel exchanged a glance, then both turned toward Catrina, who was breathing heavily, her hands clutching her chest as though she were in pain.
Lathel: "…"
"Mother! Are you all right?" Arina rushed over in panic.
Lathel, meanwhile, wanted to swear out loud. 'Damn it! Is this some new tactic to get me killed?!'
"No! I… I'm fine," Catrina said quickly, taking a deep breath to calm herself—though her mind was still filled with flashes from that dream.
'Maybe… our dreams were connected somehow. That's why…' she thought, her face burning red like she had a fever.
"Mother! Don't scare me like that. You… you…" Arina stammered.
Lathel stepped closer as well. "Aunt Catrina, are you sure you're okay? Should I call for a doctor?"
"No!" Catrina blurted. "No need. I'm sorry, Lathel—I just felt a bit tired, that's all."
Lathel exhaled in relief.
Catrina took another deep breath and looked at him again. In her eyes, Lathel suddenly seemed even more handsome—radiant, like a light pushing away the darkness around her.
'No! Arina's here. I can't let her notice anything between us,' Catrina thought, quickly forcing herself to regain composure.
A moment later, she sighed softly and said, "I'm sorry, Lathel."
"It's fine, as long as you're okay," Lathel replied.
'Yeah!' he thought silently. 'If you weren't okay and something happened to you in my house, that bastard Alex would probably burn me alive.'
Hearing Lathel's concern made Catrina's heart melt even more.
Arina looked at her mother, confused, but seeing that she'd calmed down, she relaxed.
Then Arina turned to Lathel, frowning. "Lathel, Mother and I came today to borrow money from you."
"Borrow money? From me?" Lathel blinked in confusion but still asked, "All right… how much do you need?"
"Not much," Arina said with a huff. "Just one million gold coins."
"One million gold—" Lathel raised his cup, took a sip of tea, and then realized what she'd just said.
"Pffft! What the hell did you just say? ONE. MILLION. GOLD. COINS?!"