Proposal

Elle sighed and perked up her ears to listen to the condition. She was happy that, finally, her grandfather was giving up on the idea of getting her into a relationship.

She was happy with her current life and had little to no interest in getting into any relationship. 

She had gone on blind dates just because she wanted to fulfil the orders given by her grandfather. And even on those dates, she had never really rejected anyone; she played her cards and forced the other party to reject her.

She waited patiently to hear the condition that she was ready to fulfil no matter what.

Marvin smiled, seeing the eagerness in Elle's eyes. It was hard to get any genuine emotions from Elle. She displayed emotions, sure, but they weren't real. Even he knew Elle had just mastered the art of displaying emotions, so he wouldn't worry about her.

In reality, he didn't want to force Elle on anything and just let her live her life. But he knew that if this went on, Elle would never understand the meaning of love. She would never feel the things the world had to offer, so he needed to use force.

Marvin's lips tugged up as he said, "It's nothing, really; you just need to see if you and Lex can be in a relationship. I just want to see if you two are compatible."

"But Opa..." Elle tried to object, but Marvin didn't let her finish her words.

"I know what you're thinking; that's why I'm saying to just see. You don't have to get in a relationship now, but at least spend time with him and see if you can be in a relationship with him." Marvin explained.

Elle was tongue-tied. She closed her mouth and began to think about the proposal. In her opinion, it was a good proposal; in this way, she wouldn't need to attend the many blind dates her grandfather set up.

She also didn't need to get into the relationship; she just needed to try her best. Then, the image of Lex passed through her mind, not the adult Lex but a young Lex.

Unconsciously, a small and faint smile appeared on her cheery red lips. If it was Lex, then she wasn't too against the proposal. She didn't understand why, but like always, she followed her instincts.

"Fine! I'll do as you say, Opa. I'll try my best and spend time with Lex." Elle said while thinking of many plans that concerned Lex.

Denver, who was just silently sitting on the sides, joined his hand and prayed, 'Hey God, please make this relationship work out somehow; otherwise, I'll need to retire and go on mountains.'

Marvin beamed in joy hearing Elle's words. He had expected Elle to disagree and had prepared many means to convince her. He even thought of doing emotional blackmailing. He didn't know it would be this easy to convince Elle.

"Good! Now I'm rest assured." Marvin smiled, his happiness almost overflowing. "You don't know how happy I am, Elle. Don't worry; I won't go back on my words. I'll ask Jean to cancel all those blind dates."

Elle looked at Marvin's face in confusion. Did such a small thing really bring so much happiness to her grandfather? Would her getting into a relationship make her grandfather so happy?

'Guess I'll really need to work hard and get in a relationship, doesn't really matter how. If it means Opa will be happy, I'll do it.' Elle swore in her heart. She worshipped her grandfather and would do anything to make him happy.

"Haha, congratulations, Old Marvin. If everything went smoothly, we'll be relatives." Grandpa Max laughed and said.

"You sure have a lot of confidence in Lex, huh?" Marvin said.

"Haha, of course I have. If that brat couldn't win Elle's heart, then nobody can." Grandpa Max said.

"Grandpa Max, the function of the heart is to pump blood." Elle reminded.

The more Denver sat there, the more afraid he became. Finally, he thought of something and said, "Hey, I have an idea. How about we don't tell Lex about this?"

"Hmm? Tell me what's going on in that small brain of yours." Grandpa Max asked.

"I inherited my brain from you, old man." Denver rolled his eyes and said, "Anyways, I meant we shouldn't tell this to Lex. You know how he is; if he hears about this, he'll begin to keep his distance from Elle."

"Ahh!" Grandpa Max understood and said, "Because of all the mess of The Obsidian Council, he wouldn't want to be in a relationship now."

"Correct! So it would be better if we don't tell him about this." Denver turned towards Elle and said, "You can just spend time with him. He's a fun guy, and I'm sure you'll like him."

"Sure, it makes no difference anyway." Elle nodded and said.

"What's the topic everyone is discussing, huh?"

Jean's voice sounded as they all turned to look at Jean and Lex carrying two big trays.

Denver was the first to speak, "Haha, we were just discussing how many more days my old man will live."

Lex narrowed his eyes at Denver. He had lived far too long with Denver and quickly saw through his lie. But he didn't pay much attention to it.

Grandpa Max snickered and grumbled, "I'll live to the day you die, brat."

"Then I guess you'll have to wait for next century, old man," Lex said as he placed the tray on the table. "This guy is a cockroach. He won't die so easily."

"Heh, can't you see what I'm planning then?" Grandpa Max asked while showing his white teeth.

"Ah! I see, you're just planning to live forever then." Lex said.

Everyone laughed at that and began to talk about everyday topics. Jean then served the Poha to everyone with the dessert she had made.

It was a lovely atmosphere that Lex liked a lot. He didn't even sense when time passed; he had already eaten the delicious poha he loved. 

Looking down at the empty plate, Lex could only shake his head in regret.