Proposal XIV

"Our apologies for the sudden intromission," the Holy Prince's airy voice was accompanied by the light flapping sound of his impeccable white robes that swayed with the soft breeze, "We didn't have the pleasure to present ourselves before."

'… and why would you like to make our introductions…?

'Moreover, what did he say before? What is interesting?

'And… how much did he hear?' After being dazed by the Holy Prince's appearance, Shen Rou's thoughts began to run.

"…" The Holy Prince saw the Fourth Prince being wordless but before opening again, he looked where the three servants stood.

Their expressions were still bemused; were they seeing things? Why was the Holy Prince…?

As they were in wonder, a pair of golden eyes met theirs.

When they saw the Holy Prince smiling face, their thoughts were cut and as though they had understood something, they quickly backed plenty of steps away.

The Holy Prince retrieved his sight from them and made a slight gesture with his hand.

'… Two Senses Distortion Barrier.' The Fourth Prince furrowed his brows while the thoughts about the Holy Prince that Shen Rou had formed were changing.

"This is the least you should do to not get caught displaying an interesting sight."

'Does he think I'm stupid as to not know…'

"However, We think you may know that… which makes it perfect."

'…' Shen Rou wasn't grasping the point of this conversation, though it couldn't actually be called one as she had yet to say a word. Moreover, how could he maintain such smiling semblance and clear eyes while pointing both parties' faults? She was getting goose-bumps.

"We will be straightforward. We are in need of someone and We just thought, you met the conditions."

'So to say… we thought the same? But… I dropped the idea and he just got it…' Shen Rou was perplexed when she thought about such a coincidence.

At the sight of the opposing person still unwilling to say a word, the Holy Prince just continued with the same flawless smile, "We want to propose a deal where you can put the price."

'All right, that's enticing. However…'

At length, the Fourth Prince opened his mouth to speak, "What's this deal about? His Imperial Highness has forgotten to mention it."

The Holy Prince's smile didn't diminish, saying, "My apologies if We might offend you.

"Recently, We have been told to marry. We were able to drag it for tens of thousands of years but as the eldest and with Our younger brothers being engaged, the Second Empress has become impatient.

"Our Imperial Father had hinted us on many occasions "good" matches. However, those links will bring too much trouble.

"And as you may know, the standing and fates of those with a Lady Man constitution aren't good. You also come from a Middle Empire despite how wealthy it may be. Even though things will still be troublesome, they will at least be less. Moreover, your interesting displays tell us that they might even be less than predicted." He didn't hide his reasons behind his purpose. He had the feeling that hiding them from the Fourth Prince might hinder the development; he had good intuition.

'… Is his proposal… Is the Holy Prince proposing me to marry him?' The Fourth Prince, who had had his dark eyes wide-opened since he heard the word 'marry', was in unbelief. Though Shen Rou may have gotten the idea of making a deal similar to the Holy Prince, she never thought it could be this easy and without having to expose her cards.