Chapter - 60

The moment Leo stepped in, steel flashed in the air.

Leo abruptly stopped as he looked down.

Two curved katanas were crossed in front of his throat, the cold, sharp metal pressing lightly against his skin. One inch further, he would be bleeding. One step further, and he would have been decapitated.

Standing on either side of him were the two female bodyguards he had seen at the Golden Scales. They had moved with blurring speed, emerging from the shadows of the room like wraiths. Up close, their black leather armor was scuffed and worn, smelling of oil and leather. Their faces were still veiled, revealing only hard, unamused eyes.

"Looks like you have a bad habit of being at places at the wrong time," a cool voice said from the other side of the room.

Leo looked past the blades.

Lady Ryana was sitting behind a massive desk covered in maps, ledgers, and a half-eaten meal. Her heavy travel cloak was still on her shoulders and the veil was still in place.

He still could not see her face. Only her brown eyes that were right now wanted to pierce him. Her blood red hair fell over her shoulders like fire.

She leaned back in her chair, looking at him with annoyance, "Give me one reason why my guards shouldn't just open your throat and spill your blood on my new rug."

Leo didn't flinch. He didn't raise his hands in surrender. Instead, he let out a low, mocking laugh.

He slowly raised a finger and pushed one of the scimitars away from his neck, just a fraction of an inch.

"You should tell your pets to not go around barking at random people, Miss Ryana," Leo said, his voice dripping with condescension, "You never know when they might get chopped and delivered at your doorsteps."

He turned his head to look at the bodyguard on his left. He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering deliberately on her chest plate. It was flat. Utterly, completely flat.

"And you," Leo tutted, shaking his head at the assassin, "Put this toothpick away, you flat board."

"You girls are so, so stiff. No wonder you are just bodyguards. You need some meat on your bones if you ever want a man to look at you with anything other than pity."

"How are you going to feel the pleasure of being under a man if you are going to be so violent?"

The girl's eyes narrowed, a flash of pure fury visible. The sword pressed harder against his skin, drawing a tiny bead of blood.

"Insolent bastard!!" the girl hissed.

"Stop," Ryana commanded.

The girl wanted to detach that filthy mouth of the pervert's body, but Ryana's words were the absolute authority. She stopped, but both the girls did not lower their swords.

Ryana, on the other hand, studied him. She recognized the man. He was the same guy who had winked at her while she was at Golden scales.

"You are that arrogant boy," she said, "The one with the apple."

"Leo," he corrected, flashing a charming smile, "And I prefer 'confident'. Arrogance implies I can't back it up."

"And can you?" Ryana asked.

"Ask Gamon," Leo shrugged, "Oh wait, you can't. But trust me. He's probably still searching for me frantically in the whole of Auravale."

Ryana waved a hand, "Stand down."

Reluctantly, the two female bodyguards stepped back, sheathing their weapons in sync. They retreated behind Ryana, but still staring at Leo like a hawk. One wrong move, and Chop! Chop!

Leo rubbed his neck where the blade had been. He walked forward, uninvited, and pulled out the chair opposite Ryana's desk. He sat down, crossing his legs and getting comfortable.

His eyes immediately went to her.

Now that the robe was gone, Leo finally saw what she had been hiding at Golden Scales.

She wore a tight, red warrior's outfit, made of thick cloth. It buttoned all the way up her neck, but the fabric stretched so hard across her chest that it looked ready to burst at any moment.

The sleeves covered her arms all the way to her wrist. The belt around her waist pulled the outfit even tighter, shaping her body perfectly.

Leo's mind went wild.

'Oh hell yes. Look at that, Aiva!' Leo grinned ear to ear, 'Didn't I tell you she was hiding a bomb? Now do you believe me?'

'Look at those heavy melons,' Leo gulped, 'Each one of them is enough to fill my hand and then some.'

'And that waist? I want to wrap my arms around her..'

'Whoever made that outfit is a saint. Look at her outfit, it's holding on for dear life.'

He didn't even try to hide his stare. He dragged his eyes slowly over her chest, down the curve of her waist, then up along her throat to her sharp jaw. His gaze was shameless and hungry.

And he didn't even try to hide it.

Ryana watched him. She saw his eyes drop to her chest and linger there. A flush of anger rose in her pale cheeks. She was running a god damn merchant guild, she wasn't some tavern wench.

"My eyes are up here, Mr Leo," she snapped, her voice sharp, "If you are here to gawk like a dog in heat, You can take your ass out of here."

Leo laughed, unrepentant. He met her gaze, his smirk widening.

"Just admiring the... assets... of the Silver Route," he drawled. "A man has to assess the quality of his potential partners before he invests. And I must say... I am impressed. The quality is high. Very high."

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, as he spoke in all seriousness, "Though, I have to agree with one thing. You carry a lot of weight on your chest. Must be exhausting. If you ever need someone to help you... support... that burden, I am always available."

Ryana lost her patience, she slammed down on the desk, "You are insolent! You barge into my office, you insult my guards, and you ogle me like a piece of meat? Do you have a death wish?"

"I am honest," Leo countered smoothly, "Would you prefer I lie like Gamon? Would you prefer I pretend I am not looking at the most dangerous yet the most beautiful woman in town?"

The mention of Gamon seemed to ground her. She took a breath, forcing her anger down. She needed allies, not enemies, even if this ally was an insufferable pervert.

"You said you had a proposition," she said, her voice tight. "Speak. Before I change my mind and let my guards castrate you."

"Not a proposition yet," Leo said, his tone shifting. The lecherous mask slipped and the businessman took its place, "It's more like a gift. A gesture of goodwill from one enemy of the Golden Scales to another."

He reached into his coat pocket.

The flat-boards behind Ryana tensed up, their hands twitching toward their blades again.

"Why do you guys always reach out for the blades? What is this America?" Leo ignored them. He pulled his hand out.

'America?' None of them knew what Leo meant, but before they could dwell on it, he placed the Moon-shade Herb on the cluttered desk.

The air in the room changed instantly.

A fresh, sharp fragrance spread through the air, and coolness rolled through the room like a gentle breeze, brushing across their skin. The stagnant, stale air felt suddenly lighter, easier to breathe, almost refreshing.

Ryana stared at it. Her mouth opened slightly. She was a merchant. She knew value when she saw it.

She stood up slowly, her hands pressing onto the desk as she leaned over the glowing plant.

"Is that..." she whispered, her voice losing its edge.

"A Moon-shade Herb," Leo confirmed, leaning back in his chair and watching her reaction with satisfaction. "Fresh. Potent. And I believe, exceptionally rare."

He gestured to it lazily.

"Gamon's idiot receptionist called it a weed," Leo sneered, "She wouldn't offer me a bronze coin for it. I thought... Well, I thought the Red Queen of the Silver Route might have better taste than a fat toad."

He reached out and slid the herb across the desk, pushing it towards her.

"For you," he said.

Ryana looked from the priceless herb up to Leo's face.

She looked at the man who had just insulted her bodyguards and stared at her breasts. The man who looked like a common adventurer but carried a king's ransom in his pocket.

The "arrogant boy" act wavered in her mind. He had just handed her a fortune as a casual opening move.

She frowned, her emerald eyes narrowing as she re-evaluated the threat sitting across from her.

'What does he want?' She thought to herself.

Leo just smiled, as if he read her thoughts.

"Just trying to make new friends."

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