Seeing Lathel's shocked expression, Arina sneered. "Don't tell me you can't even come up with one million gold coins, Lathel."
Lathel looked at her, torn between irritation and the overwhelming urge to slap some sense into her.
One million gold coins.
That wasn't pocket change.
A family of four could live comfortably for a month on seven gold coins. Even a small kingdom's entire annual tax revenue might not hit a million.
He frowned. "Do I look like someone who has a million gold coins lying around?"
Arina's lips curled in contempt. "You say you like me, but you can't even spare one million gold coins to help me? Pathetic."
"Good thing I never agreed to be your girlfriend or accept your proposal. Otherwise, I'd probably end up like all those poor girls—used and tossed aside like broken toys, right?"
Lathel: "..."
He was about to reply when Catrina cut in. "Arina, that's enough. Don't be rude."
"Mother! Look at him!" Arina wasn't backing down. "He's the son of a Duchess, yet he claims he doesn't have a million gold coins. His lies are laughable!"
Catrina's brows drew together, patience visibly draining from her eyes. Seeing her mother's expression, Arina finally quieted.
"Apologize to Lathel," Catrina said coldly.
"I won't!" Arina snapped. "Mother, why are you always taking his side?"
Catrina sighed, exhaustion and frustration weighing heavy on her. "Go outside. I need to speak with Lathel alone."
Arina's eyes glistened like she might cry. She shot Lathel a venomous glare. "If you dare bully my mother, I'll break every single one of your teeth."
With that, she stomped toward the door—each step loud enough to crack the floorboards.
Catrina watched her daughter's retreat until the door slammed shut—
BANG!
Only then did she exhale and turn back to Lathel. Her eyes were moist, shimmering with emotion.
'Ack!' Lathel froze under her gaze. 'What the hell is going on now? What do these women even want from me? Can't I have one peaceful day in this world? Today's supposed to be my day off, damn it!'
Yes—before meeting Catrina and Arina, he'd checked with the System about today's script.
The System had told him there wasn't one. Basically, a paid vacation day.
In the original storyline, he'd be bedridden with two broken legs by now. But since Catrina saved him, he'd planned to use this free time to explore the world a bit—and of course, to "study the scenery" at Spring Garden. Kekekeke...
"Lathel, about that letter yesterday..." Catrina's voice was soft, her head lowered, face turning crimson—like a ripe apple about to drop.
At the word 'letter', Lathel's stomach sank.
'Oh crap—the letter in the bouquet...'
He wasn't the one who wrote it. The old Lathel—that idiot—had hired someone else to write it. And after stuffing it in the ring box, that moron hadn't even read what it said.
'Damn it, you absolute fool.'
After a moment, he forced a calm smile. "Aunt Catrina, every word in that letter came from the bottom of my heart."
"Heh?!" Catrina's body trembled. Her lips quivered. She bit her lip lightly, voice barely above a whisper. "Are you serious? Aren't you afraid... people will criticize you for it?"
'Hm?' Lathel blinked. 'Why would anyone criticize me for proposing to Arina? Unless...'
'Ah! Maybe Aunt Catrina's worried that because Arina's already engaged, people will look down on me for confessing to her.'
'Ah... even though Aunt Catrina is the heroine meant for the protagonist Alex, she still worries about me. Could there really be a woman this kindhearted left in the world?'
He sighed inwardly but quickly composed himself, speaking firmly. "Aunt Catrina, I don't care what others think. For me, just being beside the one I love is enough."
"Lathel..." Catrina murmured his name, her heart filling with such warmth she thought she might melt.
"But..." Lathel suddenly sighed, expression turning wistful. "That person already belongs to someone else. I can't bring myself to destroy her happiness."
Catrina froze. Those words pierced her heart. She wanted to tell him the truth—but before she could speak, a mechanical chime echoed.
[Ding! Fate Choice activated.]
Choice 1: Help Catrina resolve her current business troubles.
Reward: Strength ×2.
Choice 2: Lend Catrina one million gold coins to help fix her business.
Reward: Strength ×5; Teleportation Scroll (10 miles) ×1.
Choice 3: Ignore her. This isn't part of the script—let Alex help her instead.
Reward: Wheelchair ×1 (You will have both legs broken by Alex after he helps Catrina solve her business problems).
Lathel: "..."
He wanted to scream. 'For fuck's sake, what does Catrina's business failure have to do with me?! Why the hell would Alex break my legs over this?!'
He asked the System in exasperation. 'Hey! Something doesn't add up! Why would Alex helping Catrina affect me? And why would he beat me up for it?'
[Idiot. In the original script, you exploited Catrina's situation—her family's pressure—to form a "business alliance" and forced them to marry Arina to you. When Alex later revived her business, of course he came after you for revenge.]
'Damn it! But I'm not doing any of that now. I'm not helping her family or plotting anything—so what gives?'
[Doesn't matter. The outcome won't change. Alex will still believe you had the power to help Catrina and Arina but refused. That, in his twisted logic, means you drove them to despair.]
'Then what if I do help them?'
[Alex will still think you're using the situation to get close to Arina. Either way, he'll break your legs.]
Lathel: "..."
At that moment, he realized something important—the existence of a protagonist defies all logic.
[However... when he attacks you, Catrina might step in to save you because of your help.]
"Ah..." Lathel fell into deep thought.
Catrina watched him in silence, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
The secret she'd carried for so long burned at the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell him everything, but when she tried to speak, her lips trembled and no words came.
'I'm sorry, Lathel,' she thought. 'I haven't reclaimed my family yet... I can't tell you the truth. Forgive me.'
Without realizing it, tears began rolling down her cheeks.
Meanwhile, Lathel made up his mind. With a soft sigh, he murmured internally, 'Fine. I choose option two.'
After all, he already had the million gold coins, and the System only said he needed to "help" her—success wasn't required.
Which meant... whether it worked or not, he'd still get the reward.
[Ding! Choice confirmed.]
When Lathel turned and saw Catrina crying, he froze. "Ack! Aunt Catrina—!"
Catrina hurriedly wiped her tears away, then looked at him with eyes full of tenderness. "I'm sorry, Lathel, I... I just..."
Lathel sighed, thinking bitterly. 'Alex, you bastard! Why aren't you helping her right now? Why do I have to get dragged into this mess? What a pain in the ass.'
Still, seeing Catrina cry made it clear her business must've reached total desperation.
He dug through his memories, realizing something strange—he'd never once seen Catrina's husband. In fact, he didn't even know who the man was.
'Ay... a defenseless woman surrounded by wolves. How pitiful. Fine then, I'll help her a little. Hopefully, when Alex comes to break my legs, she'll be kind enough to save me.'
After thinking it over, he spoke softly. "Aunt Catrina, I can lend you the one million gold coins—but on one condition."
"Heh?!" Catrina gasped, eyes widening in disbelief. Still, she managed to steady herself. "What condition?"
"I want to take part in your business."
The moment those words left his mouth, Catrina's mind went blank—then a thought surfaced. 'If he joins the business... that means he'll be spending more time with me.'
Her heart fluttered with both excitement and worry. What if Arina found out? What would she think?
But in the end, her heart won over her reason.
"Uhm! I agree," she said without hesitation.
"You should think carefully," Lathel replied with a grin. "I know absolutely nothing about business. You might just end up with even more trouble on your hands."
Catrina shook her head gently and stood. She walked toward him, every step graceful and soft. When she stopped in front of him, she smiled—a radiant smile that could melt the coldest heart.
"I trust you, Lathel."