Chapter - 63

The silence in the room was deafening.

Behind Leo, the two female bodyguards drew their katanas fully this time

"Mistress!" one of them snarled, "Give the order! He insults your honour. We will cut his tongue.!"

Ryana stared at Leo, and saw the raw, unapologetic lust in his eyes. He was testing her boundaries. He wanted to see the limit she could go.

She looked at his eyes, trying to strip her naked just with his gaze.

She reached up and put his finger on his forehead and pushed him back, away from her.

"No," she said firmly.

"My dignity is worth more than 500 gold, Mr Leo. You don't think a woman would sell herself for some cheap gold coins."

"Well, I know some who would," Leo smirked.

Ryana stepped back, putting distance between them.

"I guess that's all for now. You have your answers," she said, her voice steady again. "Four questions answered. That is a 1000 Gold Coin discount."

She did the mental math quickly. 12,692 minus 1000.

"Total price: 11,692 Gold Coins."

She turned to her bodyguard on the left, "Go to the vault. Bring the payment. Now."

The bodyguard glared at Leo one last time, spat on the floor, and marched out of the room.

Leo watched her go, then turned back to Ryana with a shrug, "So scary.. But you can't blame a man for trying."

Within minutes, the guard returned. She was carrying a heavy, reinforced iron chest and a small, shimmering metallic card.

THUD!

She slammed the chest onto the desk.

'Fuck this looks heavy,' Leo thought to himself, 'How the hell did she carry it on her own?'

Ryana opened the lid, and rows of Gold bars glittered in front of Leo..

"One Hundred and Twelve," Ryana said. "There are 111 Gold bars in front of you in the chest, and here…"

"I charged you extra for being a bit too cheeky," Ryana smirked.

Leo held a Gold bar in his hands, and carefully looked at it from all sides.

"A single Gold bar can roughly be used to make 100 Gold coins," Ryana explained. Hence 112 Golden bars was equivalent to 11,200 Gold coins.

Leo waved a hand. The chest vanished instantly into his inventory. "I trust you. You are too smart to try and cheat me twice."

Ryana then picked up the metallic card. It glowed with a soft, silver luminescence. She slid it across the desk to him.

"And this," she said, her professional persona slipping back into place, "Is a Silver Grade Guild Card of our Silver Route."

Leo picked it up. It was cool to the touch, engraved with the sigil of a winding silver road.

[Item Acquired: Silver Grade Merchant Card (Silver Route)]

"This is one of the exclusivity of our Guild."

"There are five grades," Ryana explained. "Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and the VIP Adamantium. Silver is reserved for partners who transact over ten thousand gold."

"What does it do?" Leo asked, flipping it over.

"It acts as a debit card for any Silver Route branch in the Kingdom," Ryana said. "You can store money on it."

"It also grants you a 10% Discount on all goods purchased from us. You get priority access to new shipments before they hit the shelves."

She paused, then added the sweetener.

"And it grants you VIP Access to our private auctions. No questions asked."

"And it also has 8 cubic metres of space."

"Consider it a bonus," she said, meeting his eyes. "For the... 'entertainment'."

Leo grinned. He tucked the card away. A discount and auction access were exactly what he needed for the long game.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Red Queen," Leo said.

He stood up.

"It was... enlightening," Ryana replied stiffly.

"I won't charge you for the lesson," He extended his hand, "Not yet."

Ryana hesitated as she stared at his hand. Touching him felt so dangerous. Every instinct screamed that this man was fire, and she was made of paper. He would burn her.

But in the face of his extended hand, she couldn't refuse him.

Though unwilling, she reached out and took his hand.

Her skin was soft, warm, and dry. His hand engulfed hers, large and rough.

But when Ryana tried to pull away, Leo didn't let go.

He held her hand captive. His grip wasn't painful, but it was inescapable.

"Mr Leo?" she breathed, her heart rate spiking again.

He stepped closer, closing the distance over the desk.

He used his thumb to slowly, deliberately rub the back of her hand, caressing the smooth pale skin of her.

He smiled at her.

"I will be back for more," he told her.

DING!!!

And just as he spoke, he heard the familiar chime in his head.

[New Quest Available: The Merchant Queen's Heart]

[Objective: Make Ryana, the Mistress of the Silver Route, your woman. Conquer her heart and her empire.]

[Time Limit: 15 Days]

[Rewards: 10,000 EXP, +30,000 Silver Coins, 2 Random Spins, 1 Mystery Box]

[Failure Penalty: Permanent curse 'Poverty's Embrace' (Unlucky for 3 days, Lose Gold (-90%)).]

Leo's smile widened. High stakes. A deadly penalty. And a beautiful, defiant woman as the prize. Just how he liked it.

"Until next time, Ryana," Leo said, whispering in her ear so that only she could hear.

He finally released her hand, letting his fingers brush against her palm as he pulled away.

"Try not to miss me too much."

He turned and walked out, whistling a jaunty tune, leaving the heavy oak door wide open behind him. The sound of his boots faded down the hallway.

As soon as he was gone, Ryana's legs gave out.

She collapsed back into her chair, the leather creaking. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps, as if she had just run a mile.

Her face was flushed a deep, burning crimson. Her body felt hot, her skin tingling where his thumb had rubbed her hand. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

She felt... pulled to him. Like gravity.

She looked down at her hand, the one he had held. She rubbed the spot with her other thumb, trying to erase the sensation, but it only made it burn hotter.

"The prophecy..." she mumbled, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and awe.

Her bodyguards exchanged worried glances. One of them stepped forward. "Mistress? Are you unwell? Shall we pursue him?"

Ryana didn't answer. She stared at the empty doorway, her emerald eyes wide and unfocused.

"The man who walks with the Dragon's greed and the Serpent's lust..." she whispered into the silence. "... He has come."

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