Merritt closed the study door. Hearing Alice's words, he turned around and smiled at her. "Miss Alice, you and I are going to be discussing matters concerning the Debus Family. Surely we can't do that out in the open? If His Majesty were to find out, I'd be in serious trouble. You should understand—I'm putting myself at risk for your Debus Family. It's better to have this conversation behind closed doors."
Alice was taken aback.
When it came to conversation, how could Alice possibly match wits with Lord Merritt, a man who had been navigating the treacherous waters of court politics for so long?
Merritt smiled and walked over to the side of the room. In front of the bookshelf sat a round table with two chairs—Merritt would often hold conversations with friends here.
Merritt sat down first, then looked at Alice. "Alice, have a seat."
"Thank you, Lord Merritt." Alice quietly breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in the other chair. Of all the things in this study, the bed was what made her most uneasy.
"Please, wait a moment."
Merritt rose with a smile, then surprisingly produced a bottle of red wine and two glasses from beneath the desk. After pouring half a glass for each of them, he raised his.
"Alice, this is a sixty-year-old red wine from the Blue Rain Vineyard of the Yulan Empire. It's quite exquisite—do try it." Merritt lifted his glass with a grin.
Alice worried that the wine might contain some kind of sedative. But faced with Merritt's gaze, she had no choice but to raise her glass, only letting it touch her lips.
Merritt didn't force the matter. He changed the subject. "Alice, you're already engaged to Kalan, so I imagine you know a thing or two about the Debus Family's affairs. Did you know about their smuggling?"
"I didn't. I'm sure Kalan would never smuggle," Alice said quickly. "Lord Merritt, the Debus Family is quite powerful. I'm sure they wouldn't resort to smuggling."
Merritt looked at Alice with a half-smile. "That's hard to say."
"Oh!"
Merritt seemed to notice something, leaning suddenly toward Alice. His face was barely ten centimeters from hers.
Alice panicked and instinctively tried to pull away.
"Don't move." Merritt's voice carried a note of command.
Having held a position of authority for so long, his tone alone froze Alice in place, though she felt a creeping sense of unease. Merritt peered carefully at her hair, then lowered his gaze toward her.
With this downward motion, the distance between their faces shrank to mere centimeters. Alice hurriedly leaned her head back.
Seeing this, Merritt smiled and returned to his seat, letting out a resigned sigh. "I thought I saw a white hair on your head. Pity you moved—I can't find it now."
A white hair?
Alice felt a flash of irritation. She and Rolin lived together, and every morning when they had nothing better to do, they would brush each other's hair, frequently searching for white strands. Rolin had even said she was envious of Alice—she couldn't find a single white hair on her.
If Rolin couldn't find one during her daily grooming, how could Merritt have spotted one?
Still, Alice didn't dare say anything.
"Alice, you're still young. Don't let things worry you so much. Worry makes you age faster—it brings on white hairs," Merritt said with concern.
Alice simply sat in silence.
Merritt scooted his chair a little closer to hers, then fixed his gaze on her once more. "Alice, you truly are beautiful. That stunning air about you—it's truly captivating."
Alice felt a measure of embarrassment and discomfort.
Merritt leaned in slightly, continuing to gaze at her. "Alice, my wives only care about vanity—they're so utterly common. But you're nothing like them. Truly, do you know that from the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I was completely overwhelmed?"
"I deeply regret it. I regret marrying those women." Suddenly, Merritt reached out and seized Alice's hand, making her eyes widen in shock. He continued to stare at her. "Alice, if I told you that I've fallen for you—truly, deeply captivated by you—would you believe me?"
Alice shot to her feet.
But Merritt held fast to her hand.
"Lord Merritt! Lord Merritt, I am Kalan's fiancée!" Alice tugged with all her might, struggling two or three times before finally wrenching her hand free.
Merritt looked at her with a smile. "Only a fiancée—meaning you're not yet married. You could easily marry someone else. And Kalan, what does that little boy know about romance?"
As he spoke, he edged closer to Alice, who backed away instinctively.
But in her panic, Alice didn't realize that she was being driven step by step directly toward the bed.
"Alice, I've truly fallen in love with you. I swear it!" Merritt gazed at her with an expression of deep passion.
Merritt wasn't lying. After admiring the "Awakening Dream" sculpture and then seeing Alice in person, he had genuinely become enamored with her. But this infatuation was nothing more than the desire to possess.
"Lord Merritt!" Alice's voice wavered with alarm.
Suddenly, her legs hit the edge of the bed. Off-balance, she toppled backward onto it.
A smile crept across Merritt's face as he immediately pounced on top of her, his body nearly pressing against hers. "Alice, my goddess—grant this mortified admirer his wish. Fulfill my desire, and I'll fulfill yours too. I'll clear the Debus Family's name."
Clear their name?
Alice stared at Merritt, so close now she could feel his breath, and her mind flashed back to that small inn with Lin Lei—the moment of their passion, when she had stopped him at the most crucial point.
Her purity—how could she give it to a man like this?
"My goddess, come now." Merritt's voice was soft, almost hypnotic.
"No! No!"
Alice drew the dagger from her belt and thrust it straight at Merritt. At the same time, stones from the floor flew upward and hurtled toward him.
After all, Alice was an Earth System mage!
But Merritt was a formidable warrior as well. His reflexes were razor-sharp—he dodged sideways in a flash and slapped the dagger from Alice's hand.
Alice scrambled to the side and darted toward the door.
Merritt moved in an instant and was already blocking the entrance, regarding her with an amused smile. "Alice, you still think you can resist? With your magic abilities and that little dagger?"
"Lord Merritt, let me go." Alice's voice was resolute now.
"You don't want to save the Debus Family? You don't want to save your fiancé Kalan?" Merritt asked.
Alice's expression hardened. She set her jaw and said through gritted teeth, "Even if I wanted to save them, it wouldn't be this way, you beast!"
"A beast?" Merritt's face darkened, and he sneered. "I was trying to add a bit of romance to the situation, but since you're so uncooperative—then I'll show you what a beast looks like."
Alice's face went pale.
"Merritt, don't push me too far." She backed away in terror, grabbing a nearby chair and hurling it at him.
Merritt shattered it with a single casual punch.
"Stop resisting. This is my estate," Merritt said with a轻 laugh.
Alice watched him approaching step by step, then gritted her teeth and cried out in desperation, "Merritt, don't forget—I was Lin Lei's woman!!!"
The words froze Merritt in his tracks.