NOVEL WEB Chapter 67: Meeting gone wrong
"Gasp! Just what is going on here?!?"
Finally, you show up.
Vincent breathed a sigh of relief seeing her appear, though he kept his expression ice-cold. He'd acted calm and collected, looking cool and all, but internally he was kinda—no—quite scared. He was still stuck in the low refining realm while the hate-filled mercenary king glaring at him was at the peak of refined realm. If Marcus really wanted him dead, Vincent would be sporting a new ventilation hole in his chest right about now.
I need to find a way to get stronger. Fast.
An elegant red-haired woman stepped out of the teahouse, her blue eyes wide as they scanned the chaos with growing horror. The first thing she saw was a small red fountain, redder than her hair. It was coming out of somewhere where an elbow was supposed to be. The second thing was one of her hired mercenaries vomiting blood in the middle of a pristine garden. The third was the chairman she knew very well, Vincent, standing calmly with his hands behind his back, surrounded by his armed bodyguards like he owned the damn place.
Before she could process what the hell had happened, Vincent cut her off cold.
"Ms. Celia," he said, voice sharp as a blade. "It seems to me that you're not particularly interested in cooperation. I never expected such an attempt at public humiliation by your people. Let's postpone this meeting, maybe after you've finished getting your matters settled with Meridian."
Her complexion became paler at those words.
He turned his back on her without sparing her another glance and started walking away, his bodyguards immediately forming a protective perimeter as they also moved while keeping an eye on the mercenaries.
"W-WAIT, Mr. Cornelius! Is there a misunderstanding!? Please let me know, let's sit down and—"
She ran after him on those long legs of hers, panic creeping into her voice. She was a smart person so it didn't take her long to figure out the situation roughly. With the war against Meridian bleeding them dry, Annapurna's stock price was dropping faster than a stone while clients were turning their backs on them. Pissing off another mid-level corporation today would be corporate suicide.
She grabbed his arm to stop him.
Vincent finally turned, fixing her with a cold look that could freeze hell over. Something cold shivered down her spine. What's going on!? Something is definitely very strange. This wasn't the Vincent she knew. The arrogant hothead man who wore his emotions on his face like an open book was nowhere to be seen. This man in front of her was unreadable and dangerous. The more she thought, the more her fear gave way to curiosity. She found herself staring into his eyes, still gripping his arm with her mouth slightly open in full view of everyone.
How fascinating. Vincent felt those pair of curious eyes trying to uncover his every secret.
Seeing this scene Marcus was left dumbfounded. How did it come to this? Weren't his brothers the victims? And why was Celia still holding that bastard's arm?!
"MISS CELIA!" Marcus's almost panicked shout snapped her back to reality. She jerked her hand away, face flushing with embarrassment.
"Mr. Cornelius, please come inside. I'll personally apologize for my security team's... enthusiasm. Whatever happened, I'll make sure this matter is brought to justice today."
How clever of her to twist words like that, well whatever. Vincent's first goal wasn't just to mock Marcus and save face. He wanted leverage before any negotiations began, which he now had. Time for the second goal.
"Since you're being reasonable, I'll let this slide." He paused, watching her relief. "But I want your 'personal' bodyguard to apologize for intentionally disrespecting me. That's not asking much, right?"
Of course his second goal was to earn points from the protagonist.
Celia exhaled slowly. She'd expected him to demand something outrageous but this was manageable. What she didn't know was that her bodyguard was a protagonist, a mercenary king. And protagonists like Marcus would literally rather die than bow down to a villain.
Marcus felt like going crazy as his jaw clenched hearing the demand. He'd never apologized to anyone in his life, and he sure as hell wasn't starting with this bastard.
Over my dead body.
"Marcus, apologize to Mr. Cornelius immediately and let's settle this," Celia ordered firmly.
"What?" Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Celia was asking him to grovel before another man? Not to mention that man was his enemy. Although she was not his woman officially, he had already thought so in his heart. So hearing her say it so casually hurt him.
Celia frowned. "I said apologize."
Every single eye was on him now. His mercenary brothers, businessmen and even tea house staff were looking at him. For the first time in years, Marcus felt genuine pressure crushing down on him. He didn't feel like this even when he was surrounded by enemies on all sides wanting to kill him. Yeah, he'd deliberately tried to humiliate Vincent, but apologize? Not a chance in hell.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Protagonist Marcus has slightly panicked from pressure.
Marcus LP: -100 Vincent LP: +100
VP: +200
Just as Marcus wrestled with his pride, a small movement caught his peripheral vision. An unremarkable man dressed like any other man slipped through the crowd, his hand emerging from his pocket with a gleaming knife in his hand and his target? His target was Celia.
Vincent, with his back to the crowd, missed it all entirely. But Marcus's protagonist instincts kicked in as his body moved towards her at inhuman speed.
"CELIA!"
He lunged forward as the blade thrust toward her heart. Vincent, astonished, spun around to see a man with a knife very close to Celia's chest and Marcus's hand wrapped around the knife blade, blood streaming between his fingers.
Vincent's bodyguards quickly tackled the assassin as Vincent snapped out of this sudden turn of events and immediately shouted, "Get a medic!"
Internally, he couldn't help but curse the damn fate. A sudden appearance of an assassin at such a crucial moment, what was it if not fate's intervention? Now he couldn't force the apology without looking like a complete asshole.
Marcus locked eyes with Vincent with a hint of triumph in his eyes before the medics led him and the two mercenaries away. He'd grabbed that blade intentionally to get out of that situation, but being cornered by someone so much weaker had lit a fire in his gut. Vincent, you bastard will definitely pay for this.
After mentally cursing every force involved for a while, Vincent turned to Celia. She stood frozen, trembling, one hand clutched over her heart where the blade had been aimed. Her breathing was rapid and shallow.
Vincent seeing this couldn't help but sigh. He felt pity for her. This woman was getting in all sorts of trouble because she was approached by a mercenary king protagonist who decided to become her bodyguard. Vincent couldn't help but approach her.
"Miss Celia, you okay?"
She didn't respond, lost in shock. Vincent gripped her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake.
This finally snapped her out of her trance as she instinctively stepped back and looked at Vincent with a wary expression.
"It's okay now, my bodyguards have apprehended the assailant," Vincent said, walking past her toward the tea house. "Come on. Follow me."
Vincent was in a shit mood now, but he wasn't about to let it show. He decided to just drink some tea to calm down. Celia, in her vulnerable state, found herself following that commanding voice without thinking.
Inside the elegant teahouse, two attendants waited. Vincent immediately gestured to them. "Bring something to calm the nerves."
They bowed and hurried off to prepare tea. They knew what happened outside and couldn't afford to make a single mistake. Vincent pulled out a chair for Celia as he said, "Sit."
Moments later, rich tea aromas filled the space. The women moved with practiced grace, pouring two steaming cups. Seeing Celia still lost in her own head, Vincent brought the tea in front of her.
"Drink."
The warm steam and rich scent seemed to anchor her. She slowly held the cup and took a sip, then another. By the time she'd drained the cup, her hands had stopped shaking.
She looked at the man across from her. Slightly slouched in his chair, sipping tea while gazing out at the garden. The whole scene looked almost... peaceful.
Feeling her stare, Vincent asked without turning, "Better?"
"Ah, yes." Celia blushed, not sure why she was acting like such an idiot today. She gave the man responsible in front of him a resentful look but it soon softened.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Celia's favorability towards you has increased to 55(+8)
Marcus' LP: -200 Vincent's LP: +200
VP: +400
Vincent blinked, confused at the notification. He was just drinking tea. Why was this woman's favorability increasing? From the corner of his eyes, he looked towards Celia, who was pouring herself another cup of tea, slightly relaxed now.
Well, maybe Marcus getting stabbed wasn't such a bad thing after all.
P.S.— Thank you @LazyMirth for 5 golden tickets. <3