Chapter 17: Wanna Bet?

Vivian looked at him with a flat expression, lazily raising the wine glass to her blue lips and taking a rather noisy sip. Without answering, she closed her eyes and visibly tasted the brew.

After a few seconds, a rather loud swallow echoed around the room. Vivian opened her eyes in annoyance and looked at him with disdain.

"Are you going to sit down or what? I haven't got all day, pretty boy."

"Hehe~ Sorry for the inconvenience." Laughing softly, Adryan obeyed the woman's request and sat across from the annoyed Vivian.

"..."

"..."

Both adults looked at each other in awkward silence, one smiling and the other frowning.

Pum!

Vivian slammed her half full glass of wine down on the table, sending a few drops flying, and grunted as she shamelessly reached into her not-so-small cleavage and pulled out a metal box.

Opening it, she pulled out a cigarette and put it to her lips. Her hand again shamelessly reaching into her bosom, she fumbled around for a few moments, moving a little aggressively before grunting in incredible frustration.

Pulling her hand from its pillowy prison, she clutched her cigarette with disdain. Her eyes darted from the nicotine cylinder to him.

"I doubt you have a light?" Vivian asked, waving the cigarette disinterestedly.

'Don't tempt me with a good time.' He answered in his heart, a smile escaping his lips.

"My dear, you're talking to the real human torch." Joking a little, Adryan reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.

Immediately, the woman's eyes lit up. "Sweet!"

Vivian reached out to grab the lighter, but contrary to her expectations, the man in front of her threw the object at her.

Undeterred, she easily caught the silver lighter and brought the cigarette back to her lips.

With a deft flick of her wrist, a small yellow flame emerged from the wick of the lighter, and the barbarian quickly lit her cigarette. Without missing a beat, she took a deep drag, consuming half the cigarette and filling her lungs.

As she exhaled the smoke, the woman's bitter expression relaxed visibly, and a small smile graced her lips.

"You're a savior, pretty boy. Tell me about your business, and Mother Vivian will have you walk out with deep pockets."

"I'm planning to buy an investment company, and I'd like someone like you to ensure the deal goes through," Adryan said as Vivian looked at him while taking a puff or two.

Blowing out another light puff of smoke, the barbarian asked, her tone flat. "And what would that company be?"

"The Apex Financial Solution."

"Shit."

As soon as he answered, Vivian's expression turned sour, and she grunted frustratedly as she stubbed out her cigarette.

"Had to be that one... Tell me, pretty boy. You're not from around here, are you?"

"It seems our business plan has some technical difficulties," Flora said, a little surprised at what she saw.

Adryan was the same and raised a curious eyebrow. "I've spent the last few years studying abroad, so I may be a little behind on the rumors and news of Azshara."

"Urghh, of course." Lighting another cigarette, Vivian took a deep breath before continuing. "As a thank you for the fire, I'll give you a personal tip: look for another company to buy."

His eyebrow rose further. "This one seems to have a bit of a reputation."

Vivian snorted and rolled her eyes as if what he had said had been a joke repeated a thousand times. "What reputation? The company has gone downhill since that brat Dieter Schmidt took over from his already stiff grandfather. Every deal they do or every business they get involved in ends in ridiculous losses or straight into bankruptcy!"

Spreading her hands in the air, the Barbarian could only laugh in disbelief. "In just 4 years, the brat has ruined a company with a history of over 5 generations! 150 years! One can't help but think that he played with the heart of a witch's daughter and she cursed him for it. That alone would explain his shame on the family business!"

She snorted and added, "He has a reputation for being a player; I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."

Vivian blew out another cloud of carcinogenic smoke and looked at him boredly. "That's why I'm telling you to find somewhere else to spend your money. A seedy casino is better than this dying business."

He watched the woman silently with a flat stare. Adryan took his time before replying, "Sooo are you going to help me or not?"

"..." With an expressionless face, Vivian stared at him in silence for a long fifteen seconds.

"Didn't you hear anything I said?"

Laughing softly, the black-haired man nodded as he winked. "Oh yes, I heard you, and it just made me want to buy this company even more."

"You have a problem in your head, don't you?"

With a sideways smile, Adryan explained, "Think about it. With such a bad reputation, it's obvious that the asking price will be as low as possible. This is the best opportunity to acquire it."

Vivian snorted and gave him an annoyed look. "And that will mean nothing when, because of the reputation it has left, you too go out of business and have to sell it for a much lower price than you originally paid."

He held up a finger and twisted it from side to side in reproach. "If you know how to use it, there is no bad publicity. Thanks to the previous owner's failures, handing it over to someone new will attract attention, and no doubt, there will be curious people who want to test whether the new boss knows what he's doing or if it is just another failure.

"Not to mention that with the remaining connections this company must have, I'm sure I can get the money back by the end of October."

At his words, Vivian looked at him incredulously. "You plan to get all that money back in just 71 days? The last time I checked, they were asking for 15,000 sassem. That's not a small amount!"

Widening his eyes a little exaggeratedly, Adryan put his hand to his chest and went into drama queen mode.

"Sorry, did I say recover?" he said in a regretful tone, his face sad, a sad expression that turned into a complete sideways smile the next second.

"I meant duplicate."

Vivian's face hardened, her eyebrows furrowed, and pressure began to emanate from her body that would make any normal person break into a cold sweat.

This was a barbarian's unbridled aura, revealing the astonishing strength hidden within her small body. She could easily throw a grown man against a wall with one arm if she wanted to.

But for someone who had been through as many horrible and terrifying things as Adryan had... Vivian looked as frightened as a baby kitten; all he felt was the need to rub her head.

Smiling at such a feeble attempt at pressure and intimidation, he just looked at the barbarian woman in amusement.

Not believing he could stand such tenderness, Adryan decided to put an end to the woman's eternal humiliation. "Well, Miss Vivian? Will you be my sword and shield in this exchange?"

The woman's eyes widened momentarily before she sighed and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray. "What's your name, pretty boy?"

Adryan replied with a small smile. "Harvey Wayne, future greatest entrepreneur in all of Lenburg. I'll be in your custody."

...

Walking through the streets, having already left the law firm and with an appointment for tomorrow, Adryan smiled in satisfaction.

"That was quite a statement, if I may say so. You dream big, don't you, Princess? Isn't it a bit arrogant to say you're going to do that?" Flora admitted, not expecting such words from the mouth of her coachman.

"I never do small or half-hearted things. It always has to be big." He responded with an imperceptible twitch of his lips, his smile widening as he quickened his pace a little more.

"I want to see how you're going to achieve that. You're not much of a business or investment man. You've made most of your money from bounties and gang robberies. Maybe the Conspirator enhancement will help you with the technical stuff, but I seriously doubt you'll be able to double the money."

Noticing a small detail in what Flora said, Adryan smiled flatteringly.

"Oh? Then you don't doubt I'll get it back."

"Of course not; I know what you're capable of. But doubling the money is something I find very difficult to achieve, at least in such a short time."

"Don't shake your little worm brain, Flora. I know exactly what I'm doing, and I'll always have you to give me financial advice."

"It's your money, do what you like with it. Just ensure you have a mattress left over when you get thrown out on the street for not paying for your room." Flora said sarcastically, mockery clear in her voice.

From the way she said it, Adryan couldn't help but imagine a worm raising its tail in the air, like a person raising their arms when they heard an 'uh?' after repeating something one too many times.

Such a mental image brought a smile to his face.

"Princess... Do you have something on your mind about me? I can feel it." Flora asked with enormous suspicion. Her sixth sense, created solely for the redhead's provocations, was itching.

"Maybe~" Adryan said sweetly, his eyes shining innocently.

"Maybe a good punch in the face will bring you to your senses." Flora huffed. After a few seconds, she added, "What do you think of what that barbarian said?"

As soon as she saw the woman, she knew it was her order and her way.

Throughout her life, she has interacted with various Lawyers, and it has become one of her many talents to recognize the bonds of this path.

"That our dear heir was cursed? Oh, no doubt." The black-haired man replied with obviousness.

It was so obvious that it hurt. Even if the brat was someone without a brain, the speed with which he brought down his family's business was already very strange.

Of course, Adryan knew it could just be exaggerated bad luck and terrible decisions. It wouldn't be strange to think that the heir had simply drawn the short straw.

That it was just a cruel twist of fate.

But that was not a possibility to which Adryan paid much attention. He was a really negative person. He always thought the truth was worse than it really was.

For him, the possibility that someone with unknown intentions had cursed the heir to the company was far greater than the possibility that he had simply been unlucky. 

But that didn't mean he would accept it as the truth.

A Conspirator could not be satisfied with so little information!

He must always search for other hidden truths and be on the lookout for new information about his prey.

"We'll take a short walk around the area. I want to see what people have to say about this guy."

With that, Adryan glanced around momentarily, keeping his step towards his future business.

'I have the church behind me. So if there's someone behind this guy's supposed bad luck, then all they'll accomplish is to increase my relationship with them~' He smiled sharply, his eyes cooled with mischief.

...

Sigh

Watching the smoke from her cigarette linger in the air for a few seconds before disappearing, Vivian could only grunt as she stubbed it out in the ashtray and got up from her seat.

She walked over to her window and opened it so that her office would be cleared of the smell of cigarettes. The woman leaned her elbow against the frame and watched as the sun began to set in the distance, painting the entire sky a beautiful orange that soothed her.

The look in Vivian's eyes was deep and confused. Her brow furrowed slightly.

"Harvey Wayne..." She muttered under her breath, pursing her lips, her eyes never leaving the sunset.

"Double the money... he... What an arrogant fellow." Shaking her head, Vivian rose from her support and turned away from the window.

"Let's see if you can really keep your word, Mr Wayne." The woman laughed softly, mockingly smiling.