Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Chapter 887: Abstentation

Romeo Flameheart chanced upon the second Antique after he accidentally exhumed it during one of his adventures.

Many had tried and failed to acquire this Antique for him, since he wanted no monetary recompense in exchange. Instead, he seemed to have had an obsession regarding something that the Elves had.

Michael wanted that Antique, but he knew that he was never going to get a meeting with the eccentric Draconian, on account of several others trying and failing to do the same thing.

So, the only thing that he could do was obtain what he wanted from the Elves and hope that it would be enough of a favor to at least get him in the door of his Dragon Tower.

But as it turned out, the reason why he’d been stubbornly visiting the Elven village was due to an ardent love he had for Lady Farren.

Unlucky for him, that love was unrequited. He’d been spurned at the door multiple times with no signs of progress or success.

At least, until now.

Lady Farren graciously agreed to meet with Romeo on the condition of having two guests by her side: namely Michael and Katarina. She also explicitly stated that this meeting was in no way shape or form romantic, just a simple get-together.

She sent her letter through a messenger pigeon, and without even an hour later, it came back with a response.

”He’s agreed to the terms,” Lady Farren stated as she scanned the letter.

Despite the clear platonic nature of this letter, Romeo still agreed. After all, progress was still progress, no matter how small. She had never even agreed to meet with him before, so this was a huge step in his mind.

”Thank you for this,” Michael said sincerely.

”It’s nothing. It’s the least I could do since I almost revealed your giant secret.”

They both turned to look at the Municipal Hall. Katarina had excused herself an hour ago, stating that she was feeling unwell.

Since she was a guest, she got her own room inside just like Michael. They were both going to stay here until the meeting with Romeo.

”And besides,” Lady Farren continued. ”This will give me the chance to reject him once and for all.”

Michael cast a furtive glance at Lady Farren, but she seemed to have noticed it.

”You want to ask why I keep rejecting him?”

”Kinda.”

She shrugged. ”I am simply too focused on my work. Finding Darkwood is my priority. It’s everyone’s. Romance is not the reason why I travelled halfway across the world.”

Michael turned silent. He didn’t agree with her line of thinking, especially since the drought of Darkwood was over thanks to his farm.

But he kept silent. Everyone had their own reasons for closing themselves off from indulging something.

Including Katarina.

...

...

...

The last vestiges of the setting sun painted the entire Elven village into a warm, orange hue.

Michael was in his room in the Municipal Hall, sprawled on the bed, ready for the next day to come.

In the end, they couldn’t find that little girl Lyra. He even searched through the vines, but to no avail. She seemed to have found a hiding place that even he couldn’t see through.

She was probably too busy tinkering with her new phone to practice again.

Kids these days, always stuck on their phones.

He turned to the side, looking at the wall separating his room from Katarina’s.

He didn’t mean to peek, but he saw her mana signatures through his Supreme Talent.

She was sitting on the corner of her bed, hugging her knees with a grimace on her face.

Haa...

He turned to the other side and saw the pink teddy bear sitting on the nightstand beside the bed.

It looked at him with its rainbow eyes and ever present smile.

”What? I did what I could!”

The teddy bear was silent.

”She’s the one that slapped you, why are you the one chastising me?!”

Michael looked at the dirty patch in its forehead and exasperatedly sighed. Somehow, he was the one getting blamed even though he was just trying to do the right thing.

”You know what, I’m not in the mood for your lecturing.”

He turned around and closed his eyes. It was better to sleep than deal with this nonsense. It’s making him crazy!

...

...

...

Deep into the night, the entire Elven village was wrapped in darkness. The only source of light came from the bioluminescent vines and sunflowers that were sparsely installed all around the forest.

A shadowy figure stood above Michael’s bed, their presence almost nonexistent.

They extended their hands towards the sleeping Michael, blurring at lightning quick speed.

But instead of him, the hand went towards the side of the bed instead!

As this shadowy figure came closer, their face was finally illuminated by the glow-in-the-dark sunflower in the nightstand.

It was Katarina.

And her eyes were focused on the dirtied teddy bear sitting quietly on the wooden desk.

She snatched it from the nightstand, her eyes widening as she finally grasped at this magnificent creature with her own two hands.

A flurry of emotions ran through her body as she felt the fuzzy skin of the teddy bear in her hands. She felt excitement, cute aggression, and a deep pang of regret.

Her hands caressed the dirty spot on its forehead and bit her lips.

Just then, Michael moved, turning his body to the side.

And in the next moment, Katarina was gone. And with her was the pink teddy bear.

She was now running through the thick branches of the gargantuan acacia trees, moving further and further away from the village.

Only once she reached the outskirts of the forest did she finally stop.

Here, there was no one around her, no one to witness what she was about to do.

Standing atop the tallest branch, Katarina looked at the teddy bear in her hands. With her hands shaking, she finally let go of all repressed emotions.

She hugged the teddy bear tightly in her chest and squealed.