The cunning NPC and the heroine who misread the situation (part 4)

"The thing that held me back was the price – I wanted the item but not at the cost of going into debt to get it. That's when I personally met mister Medea. While I was in a daze after learning the price of the sword, he approached the merchant and began haggling for another item. In my opinion, he managed to get an amazing discount but didn't seem satisfied at all. He stepped to the side, walked up to me, and asked what my budget was for the sword. When I answered, he followed up by asking if I would agree to pay for his item if he managed to haggle the price of both mine and his items below my original budget."

Hector grinned and playfully tapped the sword at his side.

"I had nothing to lose, so I agreed – and then mister Medea went into action! Watching him from the side was like observing a duel between two sword masters! Forget about my budget! The price that the merchant agreed on was less than my quarterly pay! I even offered mister Medea to pay him on top of paying for and giving him the accessory he wanted, but the young lad refused, saying that it wasn't part of the deal. After that, we chanced upon each other on a few occasions, and each time my impression of him improved."

The officer finished speaking and breathed out with a satisfied expression while Ava and Benjamin were staring at him, not really knowing what to say or even think.

|He... he is entirely in Medea's palm...!|

Ava thought to herself, and one glance at her uncle told her that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

"Then... by chance, if I would like to invite Medea to the mansion...?"

The pixie-cut girl gulped down her saliva and decided to ask upfront...

"Of course! I mean, someone will still have to be in the same room as you two, just in case, but I have no objections. If Theodore had an actual reason to dislike mister Medea, then it must have been a childish prank that mister Medea pulled when he was still very young, and Theodore just can't move on."

"..."

Hector agreed instantly and so eagerly that Ava ended up speechless.

"Oh, but be careful, young Miss. Mister Medea might end up coaxing you into telling you the secret recipe for the miraculous tonic, so be careful~!"

The officer ended up being in such a good mood that even his warning ended up sounding playful.

Like always, Hector left the dining room first, leaving the girl and her uncle alone.

"Sir Hector ended up paying for that kid's purchase and still sings praises about him? I thought that only you were capable of pulling off something like that!"

Benjamin whistled and smirked at his niece.

"Exactly... I expect that Medea might actually be someone like me. I will definitely try to get him on our side."

Ava nodded in agreement while wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Does that means that you will stop hanging around that troublesome brat and focus on the smart one?"

"Uncle, I will not stop seeing Theo. Not a chance."

Benjamin emptied his cup and sneered at Ava, but the hazelnut-haired girl cut his jokes short with a stern voice.

-------

Originally Ava wanted to invite Medea to the mansion the very next day, but she was only able to do it a week later.

It had a lot to do with how troublesome Theo's behavior became, so for the meeting being peaceful, the dark-brown-haired youth had to be dispatched for field training with half of the soldiers that were stationed within the mansion.

The training was supposed to take full two days and one night, so Theo would not be around when Medea visited the mansion.

And so, only one hour after the soldiers and Theo's departure, the door opened for the black-haired boy, and he walked in, looking around with a happy expression.

After a quick welcome, Ava guided him to the large living room, where both tried to make themselves comfortable despite the obvious soldier standing guard in the corner. It was something inevitable, and both youths weren't paying the silent guard, who acknowledged their presence with a solemn nod, too much attention.

"I know that you have many questions, Medea, but I have a few of my own – if you don't mind."

The pixie-cut girl said, unable to hold back her excitement. She wanted to confirm that the black-haired boy was indeed a reincarnation just like her.

Learning that he was someone capable and helpful only added to that sentiments.

"Impatient, aren't we?"

"Eh?"

A happy expression suddenly vanished, and the boy's face turned serious – with the change being so stark that Ava ended up unable to hold back a gasp of shock.

"Let me guess... My cute Zorivia healing up the cattle cut off your second biggest money-making operation, so you want our gang to make her pay? Absolutely out of the question."

Medea tilted his head and asked in a hushed voice, sounding as if he was looking for confrontation.

At the same time, Ava was just staring at him speechlessly as a single sentence from the black-haired individual carried so much brand new information that she had no idea about that she froze for a moment or two.

|He... he doesn't even consider me being a reincarnation...!|

The hazel-haired girl gulped down her saliva in realization before doing her best to calm down.

|He will be trouble. I can already tell.|

She couldn't stop herself from tensing up – the situation had its up and downsides, that was certain.

With just that introductory sentence, Ava lost her eagerness to reveal her secret.

It was far better to first get to know Medea before doing something stupid like that.

"...your cute Zorivia? For an errand boy for a local gang, you definitely aim high. A daughter of an earl, no less. What is she to you – and how do you know it was her fault?"

After the prolonged silence, Ava ended up going with the flow and gave a response that the most fitting for the situation.

"What can I say? I am a greedy type of person. The only discerning factor is that I don't try to satiate my appetite blindly. As for Zorivia..."

Medea shrugged his shoulders and chuckled without changing his serious expression.