OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 149: Welcoming Mariane

...

"Welcome to Luna Noir Café..." The receptionist paused her words as she finally clocked in on who was before her.

"We welcome all kinds of customers, Sir Emir. However, please refrain from repeating the events of last time, it was uncomfortable for the cleaners to remove 'that' while someone was watching it all happen as he ate our pastries."

With a raised eyebrow, Emir snickered:

"C'mon, you can't blame me, blame yourselves. Showing me such good-looking sweets at the entrance, who can resist stuffing himself after a long day of negotiations?"

Mariane, standing right behind him, kept out of the conversation, acting like she was hearing none of it, although she understood what the receptionist meant by 'that.'

The receptionist rolled her eyes.

"Understood, Sir, please excuse my words, I didn't mean anything harmful by them."

Waving his hand, he said, "It's fine, it's fine, just bring us up to the fifth floor, and we'll have a few sweets prepared now..."

Taking a moment, he looked at Mariane and asked:

"Which do you prefer?"

She appeared to notice that his words weren't asking if she wanted one or not, but that she would get one either way and that she only had the option to choose ones that suited her taste, showing that Emir was quite experienced with dates, or rather, negotiations of this kind.

So, knowing not to refuse, she walked up to the counter filled with sweets and pastries that stretched along a long nearby wall.

She proceeded to point at a few baked goods and one slice of cheesecake.

"I'll have those."

Emir nodded and turned his attention back to the receptionist.

"Make two of the same order, and send them up after twenty minutes."

He handed over his hunter ID, and after a confirmation beep, she returned it while saying:

"Please enjoy your stay here, sir and madam."

Leaving behind the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, they stepped into the elevator and arrived on the fifth floor.

Walking side by side down the hallway, Mariane joked in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood:

"It seems like you've got a lot of experience. Are you a playboy, by chance? You should know that I would never hand over my Evelyn to a man like that."

'Trying to act playful now, are we?' He mused inwardly.

"No worries, although young, I've gone through a lot, actually that might be a massive understatement."

Reaching the door, it automatically unlocked, and they walked in.

"Dating was not something I even thought about, all that was on my mind was how to survive the next day, and that is still the case."

He gestured for her to sit opposite him, and relaxed on the couch.

"If you want to know why and if you want to proceed with what we discussed, then sign this -contract first."

Just as she sat down, she watched as Emir hover his terminal over the table, and after a few clicks, a hologram appeared before her.

A hologram of a contract that he grew tired of showing, as it was the third time he did so today.

But unlike the others, Mariane showed no visible reaction to it and silently studied it, her gaze scrutinizing every line, accounting for whether it would implicate her in any way.

And finally, she was the first to catch on to something, although Nathan could've easily seen through it as well, he never bothered to read much of it.

So Mariane was the first to actually be offered this contract, with her relationship on equal terms with Emir.

Tapping on the table where the paper hologram showed, she said:

"Here, clause four."

{During the duration of this contract, Party A shall exhibit exceptional responsiveness to Party B's requests, displaying a profound commitment to their satisfaction.}

"Your satisfaction is not something concrete, you could, for example, never be satisfied with whatever I do, no matter how beneficial it is to you and the Prince Europium company."

Nodding, he confirmed, "Good catch, I'll edit it, give me a moment."

After typing for a few seconds on his terminal, the clause changed to read:

{During the duration of this contract, Party A shall endeavor to respond promptly and reasonably to Party B's appropriate requests, demonstrating a genuine commitment to their mutual satisfaction and well-being.}

Reading it all over, she silently propped up her finger and signed the contract.

But as she was about to celebrate her new beginning with Emir, her face scrunched up and her body froze in shock.

After a long moment of silence, she finally looked up at him and stuttered out:

"Y-you knew all along?"

Chuckling at her reaction, he said:

"Well, you're the one who said that no matter how much of a big shot I become, you'll always

have gear ready for me."

"But how?!" She voiced out, suppressing a scream from leaving her lips.

He raised a brow.

"You serious? Do you think I'd actually trust the legal system we have here? The only reason I proposed this contract was because I knew that you were a celestial, the same as me."

Her face slowly returned to normal as she deflated on the couch.

"I understand... This was all your plan, wasn't it? You even subtly manipulated Evelyn into leaving by spouting off all that jargon so you could drop this bomb on me... But I don't get it. Why would you hide this from her? You already know that she is a celestial too."

'Should I just tell her that someone she so dearly loves might be manipulated into going to the academy?...No, she might interfere in my plans to find out the culprit.' Knowing that he had to make up a believable story, he pondered for a moment and said: "She's better off not knowing for now, she will be going to the academy, a place where she would be constantly meeting the Elite, Corpo, and undercover agents."

"Having her help with this would only distract her and cause her to potentially expose my secret, in turn killing her, and although she wouldn't directly reveal what I want hidden, the act of doing it will end up with that result."

He subtly twisted the truth, adding hints of lies that she would easily believe, and it worked as Mariane smacked the table with her first saying:

"You better explain everything now! You're frying my brain with all these revelations."