Chapter 16: The Bottom Line
Merritt closed the door to the study and, upon hearing Alice’s words, turned around with a smile to look at her. “Miss Alice, if we’re going to discuss matters concerning the Debs family, we can’t exactly do it out in the open, can we? If His Majesty the King found out, I’d be in serious trouble. You must understand, I’m taking a risk for your Debs family. It’s better to talk with the door closed.”
Alice was taken aback.
When it came to rhetoric, how could Alice possibly match Merritt, the Right Prime Minister who had spent so long maneuvering through the political arena?
Merritt smiled and walked over to a round table placed in front of a bookshelf, accompanied by two chairs. He often chatted with friends here.
Merritt sat down first, then looked at Alice. “Alice, have a seat too.”
“Thank you, Lord Merritt.” Alice breathed a quiet sigh of relief and sat down in the other chair. In this study, the thing that made Alice most wary was actually that bed.
“Please wait a moment.”
Merritt smiled, stood up, and to Alice’s surprise, pulled out a bottle of red wine and two glasses from under the desk. He poured half a glass for each of them.
“Alice, this is a sixty-year-old red wine from the Blue Rain Winery in the Yulan Empire. It has an excellent flavor. Give it a try.” Merritt raised his glass with a smile.
Alice worried that the wine might have been laced with some kind of sedative. But faced with Merritt’s gaze, she had no choice but to lift her glass, only touching it to her lips.
Merritt didn’t press her. Changing the subject, he said, “Alice, you’re already engaged to Kalan, so you probably know a thing or two about the Debs family’s affairs. Do you know about their smuggling?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t think Kalan would smuggle anything.” Alice quickly replied. “Lord Merritt, the Debs family is still quite powerful. I don’t believe they would resort to smuggling.”
Merritt looked at Alice with a half-smile. “That’s hard to say.”
“Ah!”
Merritt seemed to notice something and suddenly leaned forward, right in front of Alice. His face was only about ten centimeters from hers.
Startled, Alice immediately tried to pull back.
“Don’t move.” Merritt’s voice carried a commanding tone.
Having held a high position for so long, Merritt’s words made Alice freeze on the spot, though she felt a sense of unease. Merritt carefully examined Alice’s hair, then lowered his gaze to look at her.
As he leaned down, his face was only a few centimeters from Alice’s. This made Alice instinctively jerk her head back.
Seeing this, Merritt chuckled and returned to his seat, letting out a helpless sigh. “I thought I saw a white hair on your head just now, but you moved, and I lost it.”
A white hair?
Alice felt a surge of irritation. She lived with Lorraine, and every morning when they got up, they would idly comb each other’s hair and look for white hairs. Lorraine had even said she envied Alice because she couldn’t find a single white hair on her.
If Lorraine couldn’t find any during their daily combing, how could Merritt possibly have spotted one?
But Alice didn’t dare say anything.
“Alice, you’re still young. Don’t worry too much. Worrying makes you look older and brings white hairs.” Merritt said with concern.
Alice remained silent.
Merritt moved his chair closer to Alice, then fixed his gaze on her and said, “Alice, you’re truly beautiful. That exquisite aura of yours is really captivating.”
Alice felt a bit awkward and uneasy.
Merritt leaned in slightly again, continuing to stare at Alice. “Alice, my wives only care about vanity and material things. They’re so vulgar. But you’re completely different from them. Really, do you know? The moment I saw you, I was stunned.”
“I regret it. I regret marrying those women.” Merritt suddenly reached out and grabbed Alice’s hand, making her eyes go wide. He kept looking at her. “Alice, what if—what if I told you that from the depths of my heart, I’m infatuated with you, that I’ve fallen for you? Would you believe me?”
Alice immediately stood up.
But Merritt held her hand tightly.
“Lord Merritt! Lord Merritt! I am Kalan’s fiancée!” Alice struggled, pulling her hand back after two or three attempts.
Merritt smiled at Alice. “Just a fiancée. That means you’re not married yet. You could still marry someone else. That Kalan is just a brat. What does he know about romance?”
As he spoke, Merritt moved closer to Alice, who couldn’t help but back away.
But in her panic, Alice didn’t notice that Merritt was gradually forcing her toward the bed.
“Alice, I truly have fallen for you. I swear it!” Merritt gazed at her with feigned passion.
Merritt wasn’t lying. After admiring the “Awakening” sculpture and then seeing Alice in person, he really had developed a liking for her. But this liking was nothing more than a desire for possession.
“Lord Merritt!” Alice was flustered.
Suddenly—
Her legs hit the edge of the bed. Off balance, she fell backward onto it.
A smile flickered across Merritt’s face. He immediately leaned over Alice, his body almost pressing against hers. “Alice, my goddess, grant this mortal man, who is infatuated with you, his wish. Fulfill my desire, and I will fulfill yours—I will clear the Debs family’s name.”
Clear their name?
Alice looked at Merritt, who was now inches away, and a scene from the past flashed through her mind—the time she and Linley were in a small inn, at the most passionate moment, when she had stopped him.
How could she give her purity to someone like this?
“My goddess, come to me.” Merritt’s voice was soft, almost hypnotic.
“No! No!”
Alice suddenly drew the dagger from her waist and stabbed it toward Merritt. At the same time, stones from the floor flew up and hurtled at him.
Alice was, after all, an earth-style magician!
But Merritt was also a formidable warrior. He reacted swiftly, dodging to the side while slapping the dagger out of Alice’s hand.
Alice immediately scrambled away, trying to run toward the door.
Merritt moved in a flash and blocked the entrance, looking at Alice with a mocking smile. “Alice, you still want to resist? With your magical abilities and that little dagger, you think you can fight me?”
“Lord Merritt, let me go.” Alice’s voice was now firm.
“Don’t you want to save the Debs family? Don’t you want to save your fiancé, Kalan?” Merritt pressed.
Alice’s expression hardened. She gritted her teeth. “Even if I do, not like this! You beast!”
“Beast?” Merritt’s face darkened. He sneered, “I was trying to add a little romance, but since you’re so uncooperative, I’ll show you what a beast really is.”
Alice’s face turned pale.
“Merritt, don’t go too far!” Alice panicked, backing away and throwing a chair at him.
Merritt easily punched the chair to pieces.
“Don’t bother resisting. This is my mansion.” Merritt said with a light laugh.
As Alice watched Merritt step closer, she gritted her teeth and shouted in desperation, “Merritt, don’t forget—I was once Linley’s woman!!!”
This statement made Merritt freeze in his tracks.
Alice really didn’t want to say that. She knew how much she had hurt Linley with her past actions. She didn’t want to have any connection to him anymore. But at this moment, she had no other choice.
“Linley?” Merritt stood still, frowning.
Alice bit her lip and looked at Merritt. “Merritt, I can pretend today never happened. But if you go too far, don’t blame me for tearing off all pretense. I believe you know how much influence Linley has.”
Merritt stared at the Alice before him.
He was truly infatuated with her. But Merritt was well aware of the special relationship between Linley and Alice. Just from the “Awakening” sculpture, he could sense Linley’s feelings for her.
“Linley truly has genuine feelings for this Alice. If Linley found out…” Merritt’s head began to ache.
Linley.
He was hard to deal with!
Even now, Linley’s influence was already immense. Merritt might be the Right Prime Minister of a kingdom, but for the Radiant Church, deposing a king might require careful consideration, but dealing with a kingdom’s Right Prime Minister? That would take no thought at all.
If Linley asked the Radiant Church for help, dealing with a Right Prime Minister would be easy.
And in the future, Linley’s achievements would only be greater. This was why none of the nobles in the Kingdom of Fenlai dared to use underhanded tactics against Linley. As a result, in Linley’s eyes, all the nobles treated him with great courtesy. Every single one of them was so polite.
“Sigh…” Merritt let out a long sigh. “Alice, I truly liked you from the bottom of my heart. I liked you so much that I lost my head.”
Merritt gave Alice an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I’ve come to my senses now. Since you have no feelings for me, I won’t force you.”
“Then, Lord Merritt, I’ll take my leave.” Alice quickly darted to the door, opened it, and rushed out.
Watching Alice leave, Merritt, who had just been acting remorseful and apologetic, suddenly had a sharp glint in his eyes. His face turned cold as frost, and he snorted, “Hmph, you bitch!”
******
By the time Alice returned to the Debs family estate, the sky was completely dark.
The members of the Debs family were gathered in the living room, having dinner. But the atmosphere was tense, as the family could collapse at any moment.
“Alice, you’re back?” Lorraine suddenly spotted Alice running in through the door.
Nimitz and the others stood up.
“So soon?” Nimitz frowned. Alice had returned much faster than he had expected.
“Alice, join us for dinner.” Lorraine immediately called out.
Alice walked to the hallway of the living room, glanced at the people inside, and said apologetically, “I’m not feeling well. I’ll go rest first.” Her voice was low and hoarse.
Lorraine sensed something was wrong with Alice’s tone.
“I’ll go check on Alice.” Lorraine smiled at the others and left the living room, leaving Nimitz frowning in confusion.
……
In Alice and Lorraine’s room.
As soon as Alice entered, she threw herself onto the bed. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, her heart filled with endless grievance.
“What have I done? Lord, why are you punishing me like this?”
Alice screamed in her heart with rage.
“I don’t ask for much. I just want a peaceful life. I want my parents to live in peace, and I want to live in peace myself. Why, why are you punishing me like this?” Alice felt a deep sense of injustice.
The Debs family might be doomed.
But what did that have to do with her?
Why did she have to be the one to deal with Merritt?
And in the end, she had been forced to shout, “I was once Linley’s woman.” Saying those words was incredibly difficult for Alice. She really didn’t want to say them!
“Sister Alice, what’s wrong?” Lorraine walked into the room and saw Alice sobbing uncontrollably, the bedsheet already soaked. Lorraine grew worried and alarmed.
Lorraine immediately went to support Alice. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Tell me what happened. Talk to me.”
Alice turned and threw herself into Lorraine’s arms, crying even harder. When no one comforted her, it was bearable, but with someone there, she felt even more aggrieved.
Lorraine comforted her for nearly half an hour before Alice calmed down a little.
“Sister Alice, what exactly happened? Tell me.” Lorraine looked at Alice.
Alice took a deep breath and slowly poured out her grievances. “Lorraine, you know about the Debs family’s situation. When Second Grandfather came back yesterday, he spoke to me alone. He wanted me to…”
The more Lorraine listened, the angrier she became.
She was furious at Nimitz’s actions, felt sorry for Alice, was outraged by Merritt’s beastly behavior, and felt even more sympathy for Alice.
“I don’t want to deal with it anymore. I don’t want to. I just want to live quietly on my own.” Alice sobbed.
Lorraine had been thinking about how to save the Debs family these past few days, but after hearing Alice’s story, she understood something.
“Sister Alice, don’t be sad. No matter what, you absolutely cannot let that Merritt destroy your purity.” Lorraine comforted her.
Alice nodded.
“But we still need to find a way to save Kalan and the others.” Lorraine said. “Brother Kalan is our fiancé, after all.”
Alice wanted to save Kalan too, but she didn’t know how.
“There is still one way.” Lorraine looked at Alice. “But I don’t know if you’re willing to do it.”
“Lorraine…” Alice looked at her, already guessing what she meant.
Lorraine nodded. “Yes. Go ask Linley for help. Today, when you mentioned Linley, Merritt didn’t dare touch you. It’s clear that Linley has a lot of influence. From what I know, Linley has connections with both the Radiant Church and the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. Even King Clayde treats Linley not like a subject, but more like a friend. If Linley steps in, the chances of saving Kalan increase greatly.”
If there was anyone in the Kingdom of Fenlai with the most influence, it was undoubtedly Linley.
Even the Left Prime Minister and Right Prime Minister couldn’t compare to him.
Because it was obvious that Linley would one day become a high-ranking figure in the Radiant Church. And even now, he was already a key figure being groomed by the Church. For Linley’s sake, two Red Archbishops had gone to his hometown to pay respects to his father. That showed how much they valued him.
“Brother Linley?” Alice’s emotions were complicated.
In truth, Alice knew this was an option, but she didn’t want to think about it. She really didn’t want to go to Linley for help. She felt she didn’t have the face to ask him.
She knew how much she had hurt Linley. Especially when she saw the “Awakening” sculpture, she understood how deeply Linley had loved her. At least, he had loved her deeply once.
She had no face to go to him!
“Sister Alice, I understand your dilemma.” Lorraine held Alice’s hand tightly. “But Sister Alice, Brother Kalan and his father could lose their lives! Please, swallow your pride. At least Linley isn’t like that Merritt.”
Alice was in agony.
“My pride? Is my pride more important than Brother Kalan’s and his father’s lives?” Alice asked herself. She had no choice.
“Sister Alice.” Lorraine looked at her pleadingly.
Alice took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She looked at Lorraine and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go see Brother Linley tomorrow.”