While Ian woke up and learned the situation from the maids, in the Duke’s study, Di Er was sitting at his desk.
Across from him sat a plump young man, the eldest legitimate son of the Count Raymond’s family, An Ke.
Aetherinra was also sitting to one side, and Elise stood right next to Aetherinra.
Originally, Elise had been taking care of Ian, but the moment she heard that that cross-dressing pervert was coming to propose to Aetherinra, she immediately rushed over to stop it from happening.
At this moment, Di Er rested his hands on the table, his face full of worry as he looked at An Ke in front of him.
“Nephew Raymond, didn’t we already reject your marriage proposal before? Why are you back again today?”
“Uncle Di Er, you should know that I’ve come to help you.”
An Ke smiled and glanced toward Aetherinra.
Being able to marry a genius mage like her was also an honor for their Raymond Count family.
After all, Aetherinra was a famous genius throughout the entire Farah Empire and was regarded as a daughter by Duke Saint Yola, so her status matched his.
And that wasn’t all.
An Ke continued to look at Elise beside Aetherinra, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
‘Lord Angel looks so cute even in a maid outfit!’
An Ke still couldn’t forget how stunning Elise had been when he saw her in the clothing store.
Earlier, he had heard Aetherinra say that she and Lord Angel were like sisters.
That meant if he married Aetherinra, Lord Angel would become his sister, right?
Being able to become Lord Angel’s brother—just thinking about it was thrilling!
An Ke thought this in his heart.
“If you’ve come to use this matter to force my hand, then please leave. I won’t agree to your marriage proposal.”
Di Er firmly rejected An Ke’s offer.
The “matter” Di Er referred to was, of course, the Raymond Count family’s attempt to propose to Aetherinra under the condition of providing food supplies.
Although Far East City was indeed facing a crisis in this regard, Di Er would never trade Aetherinra’s future for such things.
Leaving aside his own conscience, just the fact that Aetherinra was the only daughter of his deceased comrade meant he could never agree to something like this.
As if he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, An Ke looked shocked when he heard Di Er’s words.
He stood up and quickly said to Di Er, “Uncle Di Er, you should know the current situation in Far East City, right? Right now, only we can provide you with food.”
Hearing An Ke’s words, Di Er said, “If you can provide us with food, we will naturally be very grateful. But if this is an exchange, I’m afraid I cannot accept it.”
“That’s right, the lord already said he can’t accept it. You should stop proposing to the young lady.”
After Di Er finished, Elise took over and said to An Ke.
She absolutely didn’t want the young lady to marry this cross-dressing pervert!
‘Lord Angel looks so cute when she’s angry too!’
Although Elise spoke with authority, the angry look on her face came across as cute in An Ke’s eyes.
“That’s not how it should be said. You should also hear Miss Aetherinra’s wishes.”
An Ke turned to Aetherinra and asked.
“My wishes?”
When An Ke suddenly asked her, Aetherinra didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
In her heart, she certainly didn’t want to accept this marriage proposal.
But at the moment, she was in great turmoil.
In her mind, the food crisis in Far East City had been caused by her, so she had to resolve it.
If she hadn’t insisted on subjugating the Labyrinth, none of those events would have happened—the rainstorm wouldn’t have occurred, and the food crisis wouldn’t have arisen.
Her hands rested on her legs, gripping her pants tightly.
She blamed everything on herself.
She had to take responsibility for it all.
“My wish is…”
The hearts of everyone present rose to their throats, waiting for Aetherinra’s answer.
“Miss Aetherinra, before you answer, let me interrupt.”
An Ke cut her off before she could respond.
“If you don’t agree to our marriage proposal, then we won’t provide food to Far East City. And right now, there’s no other place that can supply food to Far East City. You’d better think carefully before you speak.”
An Ke said this to Aetherinra in a slightly threatening tone.
“An Ke, are you saying too much? Far East City’s food crisis—we’ll find our own way to solve it. If you want to threaten us with something like this, then please leave the Duke’s mansion!”
Di Er caught the threat in An Ke’s words.
He stood up, released the aura of a Ninth-Tier Mage, and issued an order to show him out.
“Duke, please don’t throw him out yet. I still have something to say.”
Aetherinra spoke up.
“Aetherinra, you…”
Hearing Aetherinra’s words, Di Er retracted his aura and sat back down.
Upon hearing Aetherinra, Elise also grew anxious, but in such a situation, she couldn’t interrupt.
She could only silently pray in her heart that Aetherinra wouldn’t agree to the condition.
She also wished deep down that Ian were awake right now.
In her mind, Ian was all-powerful and would never let something like this happen.
“Then, I’ll tell you my wish right now.”
Aetherinra stood up, gathered her courage, looked at An Ke, and was about to speak.
“I’ll tell you, my wish is…”
With a bang, the door to Di Er’s study was pushed open.
“Don’t agree, Aetherinra.”
Ian appeared at the doorway, his expression serious.
“Young Master!”
When Elise saw Ian, she immediately rushed over.
“Young Master, you finally woke up! Do you know how worried Elise was about you?”
“Don’t cry. See, I’m awake now?”
Ian said, looking at Elise who had tears in her eyes as she came up to him.
“These are tears of joy, you know.”
“It’s good that you’re awake.”
Seeing Ian, Di Er also stood up from his chair and expressed everything in one sentence.
“Mm, I’m awake.”
Ian looked at Di Er and said calmly.
After learning from the System that Di Er and his past life self were actually the same person, he had truly come to regard Di Er as his father.
“This isn’t the time for that. Let me deal with the problem first.”
After saying this to Elise, Ian strode over to An Ke.
“We won’t accept your proposal. Please leave the Duke’s mansion.”
Ian said forcefully to An Ke.
Before coming, he had already thought of how to solve the food crisis.
“This has nothing to do with you. You have no right to speak on behalf of Miss Aetherinra.”
An Ke also glared fiercely at Ian.
He had no goodwill whatsoever toward this villainous young master who treated Lord Angel as a maid.
“Yes, Ian. This has nothing to do with you. Could you please not interfere?”
Aetherinra also spoke to Ian from the side.
‘Damn it. Is this girl really going to agree to this condition?’
Hearing Aetherinra’s words, Ian complained inwardly.