Secret Abilities    

Lamir's eyes turned crescent. "All the better! I shall offer you my assistance. Let's raise the stakes, shall we? I will help you maximize the price of those items, and in return, you promise to sell me the good stuff. I'll pay double or triple for it. It's a win-win situation, don't you think?"

Ren's eyes sparkled with a mixture of gratitude and intrigue. "Aren't you afraid that you'll go bankrupt with that proposal of yours?" he japed.

Lamir laughed. "My family has plenty of money. They didn't care what I did with it as long as I didn't pay Evie's debt with the fortune. Frankly, I would be happy if we ran out of money, then maybe I could be free from this . . . torment."

Something flickered in his eyes, but Ren was too caught up in his words to notice it.

"I want to ask this for a long time, Lamir . . . why are you helping me free Evie when sooner or later, some other royal is just going to take her place?"