Rizz or luck

Adger knew for a fact that the only way for him to make substantial progress in this new world was to gain knowledge as soon as possible.

However, his luck wasn't that great in his regard. His links were limited and increasing them only meant putting himself in more danger.

He had already taken a risk by revealing information about himself to a complete stranger. To gain something, this amount of risk was necessary, Adger knew this.

However, he also wanted to keep himself protected while gaining information, this was possible only if Alice told him everything, but, judging from how she talked about Stephen, Adger was sure she would flee the moment the book was handed to him.

Inspite of understanding how Alice felt and how tough her life must have been, Adger did not want to let her go, just yet. He wanted to squeeze out as much information from her as he could. Only when he felt he was sufficiently knowledgeable would he consider letting her go.

Even though he felt a little guilty, his greed overshadowed this minute feeling in his heart. Compelling him to strive towards his one and only goal.

'How should I proceed with this? I need to plant some seeds in her mind before she gives me the book. This way, I can be sure she won't run away. But what approach should I take to complete this task?' Adger thought to himself, considering everything Alice had revealed about herself.

'She must not have had a good relationship with Stephen. She isn't fond of him, at all. She appears emotionally vulnerable, must not have recieved much of love in her life. She is young, around the same age as me. Hmm...' Adger came to a quick conclusion.

'This helpless maiden needs a prince to light up her dark world. Hehe, time to be that prince. Sorry Alice but this is for my dream.' Adger apologized in his heart when he thought about how evil his plan actually was.

He was effectively thinking of taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable girl, by trapping her in a fake love story.

'This is going to be rough. I need to comfort her, flirt with her, try my best to act genuine, slowly I will destroy the wall of seclusion she has made around herself. Sigh~ So much work...'

The beautiful girl, Alice kept quiet as if going through an internal, emotional journey. She was unaware of the dark plans Adger had formulated against her.

Trying his best to act like a kind hearted person, Adger started to make his move.

A sorrowful expression soon appeared on his face and a voice filled with pain left his throat. "I am sorry about what Stephen has done to you."

Alice raised her head to look at Adger, whose face revealed a sad expression, his eyes hiding away distress and regret.

"There is no need for an apology. It wasn't you who did this to me, and even if Stephen never treated me right, I am still grateful for what he has given me." Alice muttered in a low voice.

"But still, how could he steal free will from a sentient being? This is a crime against humanity. A beautiful girl such as you doesn't deserve this." Adger raised his voice a little, his every word laced with emotion.

Alice's eyes widened for the first time. She had never heard such words in her life. The concept of slaves was common in the Marble, despite it being far advanced than the outside world.

To hear someone talk about human rights, left Alice a little speechless.

However, what surprised her the most was not this, but the last part of Adger's sentence.

'Did he just call me beautiful?' Alice had never heard any male say that to her. Her status as a slave disregarded everything unique about her, just the mark of a slave was what gave meaning to her existence.

Everyone who ever met her, saw her as nothing but a slave. No matter what she did, how she dressed, how she talked, or how elegantly she behaved, she was just a slave in the eyes of others.

Yet despite that, she still acted elegantly, talked politely, hoping that someone would one day take note of any little quality she had and see her for what she was, not just a slave but also a person, who had feelings.

For Adger, who just said it to impress her, this sentence meant nothing. However, for Alice, this sentence held a tremendous amount of weight, more than any mountain in the world.

Adger who saw the surprised look on Alice's face, asked a little hesitantly. "Did I say something wrong?"

Alice sat there in a daze for a while before she came back to her senses. Her cheeks suddenly flushed red, she held her head down and replied in a shaky voice.

"I-It is nothing! Y-you just called me beautiful. It caught me a little off-guard."

As the words entered Adger's ears, in an instant, his lips trembled, a smile threatening to curl up. In his entire life he had never wanted to smile as widely as he wanted to at that moment.

'Just like that? It took just one sentence to make her feel so flustered? Am I that smooth? Or is there any other reason behind it. Haha... Regardless, this mission just got a lot easier than I originally thought.' Adger's confidence meter went up a notch as his not so humble ego got even bigger.

He carefully selected a few more words and said with a slight tone of confusion while maintaining his poker face.

"Caught off guard? I thought you would be used to hearing such words. I mean, not to sound like a creep but you do look unimaginably cute, I have never met a girl as gorgeous as you."

Listening to the words of the stranger who she just met, Alice's shoulders stooped down considerably. Her entire body seemed to have melted like butter on a hot pan. She could not bear to hear any more compliments.

On the other hand, Adger witnessed the scene with a happy heart. He could not have asked for a better conclusion.

'I sure am a ladies man, got this girl in the bag in under a minute.'