Chapter 9 - Clarice

“Boss, what’s going on?” Harvey asked after Lynn decided to suddenly have a serious conversation.

They just finished having breakfast and Lynn suddenly asked Harvey to close the door and have the others go outside.

“Hmm… We need to discuss something about Clarice Grant. Tell me everything you know about her and my relationship with her.”

Lynn asked with a serious tone. This may have confused the man but he had no other choice considering that he has to meet this woman later on.

Luckily, this man seems to be truly loyal as he only looks a bit surprised for a moment before nodding his head. Lynn liked the man quite a bit although this person probably killed someone already.

Anyway, he waited calmly and made sure not to appear nervous at all.

“I understand, boss. First, I heard from you that Clarice Grant is an important person so you could reach a certain group. You didn’t mention it to me but I know that they are quite a dangerous group that you have to be cautious about.”

“Oh, do you have any clues about this organization I talked about so far?” Lynn asked just in case the man had already done some research for him.

“Well, if I will guess… It’s probably the Mo-Kan Group or the Moonlight Cult. She seemed to have a connection to them. However, although they’re powerful, they shouldn’t be that stronger than your Clan. Aside from that, since Clarice is backed by Grant Holdings, I’m thinking that it should be an even more powerful secret organization that I’ve never heard of…”

Harvey said truthfully while touching his chin.

“Mo-Kan and Moonlight… It seems that you’re really interested, huh. Did you do some research?” Lynn asked with a smile.

Unfortunately, Arial’s smile doesn’t look that amiable at all. It looks more threatening in Harvey’s eyes.

Because of this, Harvey misunderstood as he became flustered.

“Ah… Oh, no! Boss Arial, it just came into my mind after you mentioned it to me. I didn’t look into it at all. That’s right! Our Boss’ private business is not for us to meddle with. You just have to let us know about the places you need to visit so we can properly protect you, boss.”

Harvey said in one breath afraid that he’ll get misunderstood by his employer.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just curious whether the people around me are paying attention. It’s good to know that you have some ideas.” Cyril said trying to act calmly.

In truth, he was actually trying to remember these organization names.

He had never heard of them before. Well, as a commoner, it should be quite expected but he still felt that he was too ignorant!

Although he was only working as a sculptor, he still know a lot of people. After all, most of the people purchasing his masterpiece were all in the upper caste of the society.

This is why he can recall the generous Grant Holdings who purchased his masterpiece for half a million dollars which is the highest amount that he got so far.

Of course, the sculpture was probably only purchased for that amount since 90% of the amount will be sent to the charity taking care of disabled people.

If not, his sculptures would only be worth about 20 to 40,000 depending on the quality of his works.

The two continued chatting for a little bit more until Cyril decided to finally leave to meet Clarice.

***

“Ugh! That guy…  He’s not going to ditch me again, does he?”

A young lady in her twenties muttered as she stared at the cup of tea that was just served to her.

She has shoulder-length brown hair and wears a cream-colored hairpin on the left side of her head.  She appears to be an office lady and was out here in the to have a break from her work.

“I’m really going to strip and tie him up if he does it again!”

This lady is Clarice Grant and she’s waiting for Arial in this café as the latter requested. Though she arrived 10 minutes early, she’s expecting the man to arrive early as well considering that he missed their previous appointment.

Cling~ Cling~

The chimes of bells were heard throughout the shop as soon as the door to the shop opened.

The employees greeted the customer for a moment before continuing to do their tasks.

“Ugh! Finally!” Clarice’s previously frowning face is now smiling as soon as she saw the person who just entered.

The man is unusually wearing casual clothes which isn’t something she’d normally see from him.

‘Perhaps he wanted to look better in front of me? Well, I like his hairstyle now though… He looks too barbaric before. But now, he looks more handsome with that shirt. He finally learned how to use those muscles! That’s right! You should show off a bit more! Why was he always hiding that with thick clothes anyway~’

Clarice immediately thought after seeing the handsome and charismatic man who is approaching her.

“You look a lot better with that hair and clothes. You look refreshing. You should do it a lot more.” Clarice said after Arial was close enough.

Arial has smooth black hair and deep blue eyes which had always attracted her whenever she was the target of his gaze.

“Thank you for meeting me here, Clarice.” Arial said with an awkward smile.

“Hmph. First, you should be saying something else, right?”

“Ah! That's true, I’m sorry for not meeting you at our appointed time. I was the one who requested it and missed it.”

“Alright, I forgive you. Just buy me my favorite wine later. But before we get into business, I wanted to know what happened to the Key. I know that it’s not part of our deal. However, I needed some news about it… Is it safe?”

Clarice Grant asked in a serious face.

“The Key?”

“That’s right… I’m sure that you’re aware of what would happen to your lovely Shannon if it was destroyed. You don’t need to tell me its location. As long as you tell me that it’s safe and still complete, I will believe you.” Clarice asked with a smile.

On the other hand, Arial or perhaps Lynn, was stunned after hearing Shannon’s name in his conversation with the heiress of the Grant Holdings!