100 Days to Seduce the Devil

Day Eighty-One…

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"Hanabi, could you please excuse my grandson? I'll just talk to him alone." Arthur asked Hanabi's permission to talk to Alexander privately. "Oh, It's okay, Sir. I don't mind," Hanabi responded politely.

"Thanks, dear. Please make yourself comfortable and enjoy the banquet." After saying those words to Hanabi, Arthur gave his grandson a meaningful look, gesturing for him to follow him.

Alexander could only sigh deeply before rising from his seat, trailing his grandpa as he guided him to the veranda. Hanabi just enjoyed the food while waiting for Alexander's return.

Alexander felt the pressure when his grandpa gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Grandpa, don't give me such a look. Spill it out now. What do you wanna talk to me about?"

"Ahem," Old Man Arthur cleared his throat first. "You know the main reason why I organized this gathering, don't you?"

Alexander bobbed his head. "Yes. You opted to select my wife among our guests."

Arthur let out a soft chuckle when he heard that. "I'm glad you know. So I believe bringing Hanabi here means you disapprove of my decision of choosing a wife for you, am I right?" The old man was reasonable enough to be frank with his grandson.

"Yes, Grandpa. I guess I couldn't hide anything from you," Alexander just smiled at him, scratching his face.

Arthur wrapped his arm around Alexander's shoulders. "You and Hanabi are just pretending to be a couple. I could see that."

"Hmm. You win, Gramps. You can see through our lies. Well. I can't blame myself. It's just that Hanabi doesn't know how to act." Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

"Argh!"

Arthur smacked the back of his grandson's head. "She is just being honest."

Alexander crumpled his face. "I don't like her being so honest. I feel like I forced her to do this. Sigh."

'Hmm. Yeah. It's true. I forced her… using our bet.' He thought to himself, biting his lower lip.

Meanwhile, the old man let out another chuckle after seeing the funny expression of his grandson. "Tell me honestly. How did you get acquainted with Hanabi? She's an elite member of the Sawada Clan."

"Grandpa… what she said was true. We didn't have a good first encounter. She treated me like a criminal." Alexander complained. "I met her several times after attempting to get closer to the godfather's daughter. She was acting as their guard… their protector."

Arthur rubbed his chin, nodding. He was amazed knowing that Hanabi was a good fighter.

"Alex… do you like her?" Arthur stared at his grandson intently, waiting for his response.

Alexander wasn't able to respond right away, analyzing his feelings. "I don't know… I just found her very amusing… Lately, I feel like I want to get to know her more." he admitted.

"She's leaving Country J tomorrow, so I asked her to join me tonight and be my date so that I could spend time with her," Alexander spoke the truth. He didn't want to deny it. He invited her tonight so that he could be with her before she flew back to Country M.

Arthur chuckled once more, patting Alexander's shoulder. "Alright. I'll support your decision. I won't get in your way. Just do what you want. I'll give you freedom tonight. But I hope you can decide soon and marry someone. I'm not getting younger, Alex. I want to see you settle down before I die."

Alexander looked at his grandfather with amusement. "Gramps, you are healthier than me. You will still live beyond one hundred years."

Arthur hit his shoulder once again. "I want to see my great-grandchildren."

Alexander could only sigh helplessly.

Meanwhile, back at the banquet hall, Hanabi found a comfortable place near the cocktail drinks corner. She chose to hide from the crowd who were enjoying the music and the dance floor.

She was enjoying her drinks when someone approached her– a stunning lady in her red dress. She was accompanied by her two friends who were standing behind her.

"You are Alexander's date," the woman greeted her. "I'm Lily, Alexander's childhood friend."

Hanabi just stared at Lily with a blank expression. She wasn't in the mood to interact with these socialites.

"Yes. I am," Hanabi simply replied.

"Lily, she is so rude and arrogant. Just because she's Alexander's date tonight, does she think she can look down on us?" Lily's friend was displeased by Hanabi's indifference while talking to Lily.

"You might be his date tonight, but Lily will become his wife." Another Lily's friend butted in. They just wanted to provoke Hanabi so that she would make a scene there, humiliating herself. She was just an outsider there.

Lily was aware that among the guests, Hanabi didn't receive an invitation from Arthur. She managed to join the party because she was brought by Alexander.

Hanabi just raised her eyebrow. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know that. Congratulations and best wishes," she said with mockery in her voice.

Lily maintained her smile. She didn't want to look like a jealous woman. She just let her friends deal with Hanabi as she watched them.

"So why are you here? What's your relationship with Alexander?" Lily's friend began interrogating Hanabi. They couldn't believe that Hababi looked unaffected when they told her that Lily would become Alexander's wife.

'How are we going to piss her off so that she will make a ruckus?' Lily's friends exchanged meaningful glances with one another. Their goal was to humiliate Hanabi, making Alexander's grandfather hate her. They wanted to see Hanabi being kicked out by Arthur.

Meanwhile, Hanabi just gave them a smug smile before taking a sip of her cocktail drink. "Why don't you ask Alexander himself?"

Hanabi didn't want to waste her time entertaining Lily and her friends. She decided to go back to their table. However, just as she moved to leave, one of Lily's acquaintances purposefully collided with her, creating the illusion that Hanabi had spilled her drink on her dress.

"Aaargh! How dare you?!" She deliberately screamed to attract people's attention. "Look at what you've done! This is an expensive dress. Were you that jealous of my friend?" She lashed out at Hanabi while onlookers turned their eyes on them.

"Are the ladies fighting over Alexander?"