Luana hissed.

With a facial expression that was not made up, the woman had gritted her teeth. It didn't matter whether Rey would be angry with her or not, but she was really upset right now.


"What the hell do you mean?!" asked Luana in a tone that she deliberately raised. Not knowing where the power came from, Luana yanked so hard on their handshake this time that the link was finally broken.

Rey looked a little surprised, but the man was now trying to explain.

"Hey, listen. It seems like this association is not good," Rey said simply. Of course the accusation was unfounded, and not backed up with any clear evidence.


Not realizing that he was acting absurdly now, Rey also did not understand why Pedro's presence there bothered him so much.

"I don't want to!" Luana refused, half-exclaiming. "After telling me to contact Valerie, now you want me to say that I'm not joining this club, is that it? Seriously!"


Luana's high-pitched tone successfully caught the noble's attention, though Rey knew the woman could be annoyed by what he was doing now.

Rey's eyeballs widened, followed by a firm nod later.

"Yes."

Luana hissed again.

"That's good!" she said with the same volume. "I don't want to. I want to join this club anyway!"

Rey massaged his temples slowly, not expecting a Luana who had been very gentle and obedient to suddenly argue with him. Not only was the expression on the woman's face clearly annoyed, but Luana was also gnashing her teeth impatiently.

Her brow furrowed, even now the petite girl was scrunching her waist right in front of Rey.

Take note of this. Ruffled waist, as if to invite a duel.

"You don't have to argue, Luana," Rey said in the same tone. Firm, and it seemed she had no intention of changing that decision. "I decide whether you can enter the club or not. And for this association, I will not allow you to join. At this point, do you understand?"

Luana grinned slightly, sighing involuntarily as she made a sound that felt different to Rey's ears.

That sigh, it sounded like... ah never mind.

Luana seemed to think for a while, when Rey thought this would be easy for her. Hadn't Luana done everything pretty well until last time? The woman did not argue, and she was quite submissive to everything Rey asked.

Smiling briefly, the noble felt he had won the conversation as usual. She was just about to reach for the car door handle, but it turned out that Luana had no plans to move from there.

"No!" exclaimed Mrs. Lueic as her hand held Rey's sturdy arm.

Again like an electric shock, Rey felt the smooth surface of the woman's skin as it landed right on top of his. As if sending signals in a frequency he couldn't understand, his heart was now pumping blood faster than its normal rhythm.

"I don't want to!" Luana clarified. Correcting her position, the woman now took two steps forward to speak closer to the nobleman.

"I still want to join this association," Luana insisted. "Let me ask you now, who told me to sign up for the club? It was you! I even forgot the business card Rouletta gave me, but you told me to contact her!"

"I know, but--"

"So why did you change your mind now?" Luana cut in quickly. Not wanting Rey to set her up further, Luana also wanted to let him know that she too could make up her mind.

Rey was silent, with his jaw also starting to harden. Luana's hand was still in his, now Rey's eyes were back on Luana's bead.

"There is no reason," the noble said evasively. He couldn't possibly say that he felt uncomfortable because Pedro was there, could he? After all, was that really the reason?

Looking stunned again, Luana shook her head.

"What did you say?" she asked with a beady eye.

Luana had truly left all decorum behind, as her irritation now commanded her hand to give the nobleman's hand a hard pinch.

Surprised by the sudden movement of Luana's hand, Rey winced as he savored the pain of the deep pinch.

"Arrgh! Hey, what are you--"

"Feel it!" snapped Luana irritably. Her barbarian soul was struggling, being too lazy to deal with the wishy-washy attitude shown by Rey that afternoon.

"I don't accept any excuses," Luana continued firmly this time. Her eyes were still sharp, with an expression that had not changed. "Anyway, I want to join this association. Whose fault is it that you asked me to have an association, huh? It was good that I knitted at home and finished my handkerchief, but you insisted that I hang out with the others. Now when I want to be friends with Valerie, you get in the way. What on earth were you thinking?"

Luana realized that the way she spoke to this nobleman would have been enough to get him severely punished, if only Rey knew that her status was nothing but a common servant.

But since she was living the life of a high-level noblewoman, then no one would dare to punish her for that.

Except Rey, of course.