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Emilia's intention had never been to humiliate Alexander in public. After all, even if she wouldn't feel guilty about doing it, it would serve her no purpose. Instead, it might even prove detrimental when it came to luring him out into a bigger trap.
Why would she be satisfied with snatching just a lump of meat from a pig if she could slaughter it whole?
Of course, Alexander was always conscious of his image as well, and would never allow anyone to hurt his pride.
But although they had been 'arguing' for quite some time and none of them had raised their voice too much yet, Noelle knew from Alexander's expression that he was going to 'explode' now.
Therefore, before he could really lose his composure, she cleared her throat and continued in a 'compromising' tone. "I honestly think you should stop having delusions about my little boss, since you're not qualified. But consider your persistence… if you can attend the same events as her without our interference, I'll consider myself proven wrong. Of course, I don't believe you have that kind of ability."
Alexander chuckled darkly. "You seem to think you know me quite well? I assure you, if you knew, you wouldn't even dare squeak, let alone jump around. Wherever she can go, I can go as well."
Just thinking about how he could have had this woman slaughtered on the street had this been the Carmen country, the dark-haired man felt some of his mood lift. Maybe one day he could invite them over.
Noelle couldn't hear his thoughts, but the man's twisted expression still made her sneer. "Great, that's great! Of course, I won't let her go to small places where some rats could sneak in. How about this… If you can meet us at the Golden Crown this year… I'll consider you qualified."
Of course, this qualification was only to 'get screwed over', and nothing good for Alexander, but he didn't know that.
The dark-haired man frowned as he tried to recall where he had heard the name of that event, and his expression soon turned complacent. "This is what you said… So don't try to get in our way at that time."
Golden Crown? Hah! Did this bitch think it was some place where only the most elite could enter? She really hadn't seen the world.
As expected of a low-class servant. This vicious woman was both uncultured and uneducated.
Noelle didn't care for his condescending glare as she gave him a derisive smile of her own, instantly wiping out his good mood. "Heh, today I saw pigs dream of flying. Do you think you can even get an invite?"
Alexander felt a vein burst in his temple. When had he ever been treated with such contempt? With his status, as long as he was willing to reveal his identity, no one would be able to turn him down even if he went without invitation.
Of course, it was impossible to say such a thing here. He knew he would be able to get what he wanted soon enough, so it wouldn't do to lose his temper now.
Noelle knew that their objective was accomplished from the look in his eyes. 'Good! I don't wanna stay in front of this bastard for even a moment more!'
Emilia seemed just as startled as Jake and Alex when Noelle started dragging her out, and was only able to hurriedly bid farewell to the duo as she gave Alexander a reluctant look.
As she was dragged away, she passed by Jake, and the blonde boy's expression changed slightly when he felt something soft touch his palm.
He felt like he was back at school, and his heart beat wildly when his first crush brushed past him. No, it was even more exciting!
Clenching his fist tightly to hide the crumpled piece of paper in his hand, Jake tried his best to control his expression.
Alexander's mood could already be described as a dark storm, and he couldn't be bothered to observe his lapdog's mental activities at all. Naturally, he never noticed Jake's odd behavior.
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Neither Jake nor Alexander noticed that the crowd of 'admirers' that had presumably come to observe the handsome man didn't quite have the right expressions when the two of them left.
This was a group of six office ladies who were a part of the 'Overworked Office Ladies Association for Admiring Lovely Angels', affectionately called OO LA LA among the Emilia admirers' circles.
The shortest woman among the bunch had long been dissatisfied with the look that the dark-haired man gave her 'angel'. "Big sister, shouldn't we teach them a lesson? I couldn't hear it too well from here, but that guy was clearly acting condescending towards our baby!"
Her coworkers also echoed her sentiments. "That's right! How can we let someone act so rude to our treasure!"
The glasses lady among the bunch gulped nervously. "B-But what are we supposed to do, beat him up? I-I don't want to get arrested…"
Staring at each other, the few of them realized that none of them knew how to fight, and had even less desire to trade punches with a man twice their weight, if not more. "H-He doesn't look like the type who would learn a lesson from being scolded either… What do we do?"
Just as they were caught in a dilemma, however, the one with the bob-cut coughed. "Just because he deserves a beating doesn't mean we have to do it ourselves, right?"
The glasses lady immediately clapped her hands in delight. "OHH! Why didn't I think of that?"
Her coworkers also saw that the deal was 'doable'. "Right! Let's pool some money together and hire a hitman!"
Anyway, if they couldn't even fork over some money for their little angel, how could they call themselves her fans?
At this moment, the 'big sister' of the bunch, the tallest lady with a deep tan, couldn't help but cough awkwardly. "Uh… how much does it cost? I bought a bunch of really expensive lingerie this week, so— You know what, forget it, I'll eat cup noodles for this month! Tell this lady how much you need!"
The glasses lady gave her a skeptical look. "B-Big sister... aren't you single? What are you even gonna do with that?"
Her coworker looked at her as if hating iron for not becoming steel. "Stupid! It's exactly when you're single that you need the best lingerie to attract the birds and the bees!"
The glasses lady immediately seemed to be 'enlightened'. "…You're kinda right?"
At this moment, the long-haired girl who had been silent from the start finally cleared her throat with pride. "Ahem, no need to sacrifice so much. As a homebody who lost interest in everything for the past two years, I'll happily fork over my lifesavings for the sake of my one true obsession! Darlings, I have over two million over here, tell me where this hitman guy's shop is!"
Of course, as she came from a well-off family, even if the two million wasn't enough, she could always go cry to her mommy.
All eyes turned to the bob-cut lady who had first spoken up about 'not needing to do it ourselves', only to see her holding her head as if in pain.
The glasses lady was immediately shocked. "What?! Did they strike first and cut off our path ahead of time?!"
Her coworker also had a horrified thought. "I-I should have known that man was insidious! Quick, he couldn't have gone far! Let's catch up and teach him the fear of high heels!"
The bob-cut lady quickly waved her hands to calm them down, fearing that if she waited any more, they would really run off and try to beat the guy up themselves.
Although there were six of them… they were all thin as twigs, and that man didn't look like a gentleman at all. Even if they could overwhelm him with numbers, they were sure to get hurt.
The bob-cut lady coughed. "Calm down! We're not hiring a hitman. I don't even know where such a person could be found."
"Aw…"
"I got excited for nothing…"
The bob-cut lady couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Haven't you girls heard of the 'Grandpas Association'?"
The glasses lady pushed up her glasses, making them glint as she nodded intellectually. "Oh… I heard of them. Compared to our 'Overworked Office Ladies Association for Admiring Lovely Angels', they're just a bunch of slackers, aren't they?"
Her coworker sneered as well. "They don't even seem interested in our darling, from what I heard. Compared to our OO LA LA, they're just a bunch of fakers, I say!"
The meek, long haired 'homebody' who had too much money also nodded. "I-I also heard the same thing. They're not actually into Emilia, but are only discussed among our circles because they raise a lot of money among their members for female only impregnation research, so…"
The bob-cut lady coughed. "Ladies, let's not throw shade around on people we don't know. I heard that the guy who leads them is called 'Grandpa Brown', and he is actually a great martial artist who personally favors our little princess. I'm sure he'll be able to help us out with this 'issue' if we play our cards right."
At this moment, the 'big sister' suddenly had a horrifying thought. "U-Uh… I-I somehow don't think it's safe for us to walk into a place like that, right? L-Let's just look for a hitman instead!"
The five of them turned to her in unison. "Big sis... have you been watching too much strange stuff again?"
"N-No?!"
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Not to mention Jake and Alexander, even Emilia had no idea that she had made the man the target of one of her usually more docile group of admirers, and it was only a matter of time before he got his 'retribution'.
Of course, given Alexander's open 'contempt' of her in their presence, he had pretty much brought it on himself. Even if she knew, she wouldn't care much.
At most, he'd get beaten up a little, right? It had nothing to do with her at all.
After getting back home, it didn't take long for her to receive a new 'friend request' on her chat application, and Emilia immediately approved it with a smirk.
'Hi Emilia, it's me, Jake! Thank you for giving me your number! If you ever need anything from me, any kind of help, I'm always here!'
Looking at the first message sent from Jake, she could practically feel the nervous excitement of the boy from across the screen.
Of course, her impression of Jake wasn't particularly bad, especially when compared to Alexander. Unfortunately, since he had made such a friend, Emilia could only pull him into this trap.
The crimson-haired beauty could only sigh in her heart as she sent him a few 'expected' responses. 'Your future depends on yourself, Jake. Whether you can gain from this trap or lose alongside your so-called friend… I'll leave it up to you.'
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