Although it is a bit shabby, this heroic spirit is super strong

"Just like what you did to others."

Xiao leaned over to whisper in Grace's ear.

Chapter 17 The Mayor's Invitation

Early in the morning, Xiao and Rose were awakened by a knock on the door.

Lucy was still sleeping in a strange position, completely unaffected.

"Here we go."

When Xiao opened the door, he was somewhat surprised by the visitor outside.

It was Ed, the captain of the guards.

Only Ed was outside the door, and he was not wearing any armor.

He obviously didn't come to arrest Xiao because of the incident of him threatening the eldest son of the McCauley family yesterday afternoon.

"Good morning, Mr. Xiao."

"Mr. Ed, what's going on?"

"Is it convenient for you to go out now?"

"Well, wait a moment while I change my clothes."

"Excuse me."

"Don't be like this with me. I don't know what you think, but I treat you as a friend."

Xiao stopped Ed from saluting him.

Xiao unexpectedly found this man, who was very serious in everything he did, a bit difficult to deal with.

"It's a great honor."

"Rose, is it okay for you to buy your own breakfast this morning?"

Xiao closed the door and threw a bag of money to Rose.

"Brother Xiao, what do you take me and my sister for?"

Rose puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Cute little Loli."

Xiao thought Rose looked very cute and couldn't help but poke her chubby cheeks.

"Little Loli?"

"That's what little girls mean."

"I'm not a little girl! I might have a bit of a body type, but I'm already twelve years old."

"Isn't twelve years old a little girl?"

Xiao returned the clothes while complaining to the dissatisfied Rose beside him.

"Brother Xiao, you idiot!"

"Okay, I'm an idiot."

Xiao rubbed Rose's head.

"Be careful when you go out."

"Well, I know."

Seeing the blush on Rose's fair little face, Xiao smiled gently.

"Ed, is there something important?"

Xiao closed the door and looked at the anxious Ed with some confusion.

"The young lady wants to see you about something."

"Who is the eldest lady?"

"The mayor of this city, Miss Crystal Macaulay."

*

"Miss, I've brought Mr. Xiao here."

Ed pushed open the door to the mayor's office and motioned for Xiao to enter.

"Excuse me, Brother Ed, this person is Xiao, right?"

The orange-haired girl in front of him looked at the Akatsuki in front of him with sharp eyes.

【Alas, fate always has many coincidences. 】

Xiao sighed secretly in his heart, he knew that he was probably involved in some trouble.

Clearly, he had warned Lucy and Rose yesterday not to get involved in Martha's affairs.

"This is the second time we've met, Miss Macaulay."

"Just call me Crystal, Xiao."

Although the girl's words were kind, Xiao didn't feel any kindness in them.

"So why did Miss Crystal ask me to come here today?"

"Yesterday, you were the one who forced my stupid brother to sign the contract."

"So that's what it is, yes."

"Sell me that contract."

"Oh?"

This sentence surprised Xiao greatly.

Xiao looked at Crystal curiously, but her mind reading ability didn't work.

"Mr. Akatsuki seems quite curious about why your ability isn't working."

Crystal smiled with satisfaction at the effect of the props she had prepared in advance.

"Since Miss Crystal has prepared a mind shield, it seems the information was inferred from the thief."

"Huh?! What are you…"

"Whoever said that the ability to see into someone else's thoughts is the only one that can be done is mind reading."

Seeing Crystal showing a slightly panicked look, Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

He didn't want to be tricked by the little girl in front of him.

"But I'm truly honored that you're willing to acquire such a rare item to use against me."

"Because you're a man I have to be careful with, aren't you?"

Crystal looked at Xiao warily.

She had received the news of Baron Grace's death this morning.

The body was found in the slums of Nosti.

At Grace's mansion, the guards found a lot of evidence of his corruption and collusion with the thieves.

These things should not be made public. Crystal has just received many reports against Grace with evidence.

Grace was robbed and killed by bandits in the slums while she was on the run for fear of being punished.

After knowing this information, this is a very natural inference.

But Crystal, who knew Grace, knew the truth must be that simple.

She had a feeling that Grace's death was closely related to the young man in front of her.

"Ah la la, so I'm so dangerous in Miss Crystal's eyes..."

"Now that you can see my inner thoughts, please sell me the contract."

Crystal didn't want to waste time talking to Xiao, so she got back to the point.

"I refuse. Selling this contract like this is a bit frivolous, isn't it?"

Xiao gave a playful smile and played with the teacup.

"Baron Grace's death must have something to do with you."

Crystal tried to test Akatsuki.

"That's right. I didn't expect that fat guy could actually hoard so much money."

"You are so bold as not to deny it."

Crystal took a sip of black tea, her tone hinting at threats.

"Do you think this is a threat? I thought I did it perfectly."

"Is fabricating evidence such a thing difficult for me?"

"Ms. Crystal...I really like your personality."

"Clam?!"

Crystal was confused by Xiao's words and didn't react for a moment.

[Even if she pretends to be mature, she is still a girl at heart.]

Xiao looked at Crystal's sudden blushing and dazed look, and complained helplessly.

"Ed, how much do you know about Crystal's plan?"

Xiao ignored Crystal's surprise and asked Ed behind him directly.

"Hey! Don't tell Brother Ed..."

Crystal suddenly found that she couldn't make a sound, and she angrily slammed the table to try to stop Xiao.

"I…"

Xiao ignored Crystal and continued explaining to Ed.

Now two families are preparing to enter into a marriage contract with Crystal.

One was a cousin from Crystal's mother's family, and the other was the second son of the Hopes family, one of the seven great ducal families. Marrying one of these two families was essentially Crystal's inevitable fate.

After Crystal found out what Xiao did last night, she decided to take advantage of this opportunity to conclude a marriage contract.

He wants to obtain his brother's contract as a bargaining chip to push him off the position of heir.

Then, on the condition that she agreed to be the concubine of the second son of the seven great ducal families and give the Macaulay family the opportunity to join the Hopes faction, she asked her father to make her illegitimate brother Ed the heir to the family.

"After hearing your lovely sister's plan, what do you think, Ed?"

"I...if this is the young lady's wish...uuu."

Ed groaned at Akatsuki's punch.

Chapter 18: The Beautiful Girl's Fake Engagement

"That sounds nice, but what do you mean by acting like a victim?"

Xiao questioned Ed dissatisfiedly.

"If you accept Crystal's plan, don't give me that helpless look. If you don't accept it, just tell me directly."

"But even if I..."

"Don't say things like you're powerless until you've really tried your best and still can't do anything."

Xiao punched Ed hard again.

“Once something happens, there’s no way to undo it.”

Xiao grabbed Ed's collar and yelled at him angrily.

"Alas, I have absolutely no reason to blame Lucy's Rose."