“I need a fiancé.”
Sylvia finally spoke, her voice as devoid of warmth as her demeanor.
Shen Luolin noticed, however, that the moment she spoke, her hands—which had been resting on her knees—unconsciously tightened into fists.
“The World Tree, Yggdrasil, is withering. It is the foundation of our Kingdom of Elf’s existence. As the protector of the kingdom and the eldest daughter of the Starwhisper Family, I have a responsibility to lead my people through this crisis.”
“But those stubborn old fogeys in the Senate are using my lack of a king-elect as an excuse to obstruct me at every turn. They believe a single queen cannot bring a new beginning to the kingdom.”
She stopped abruptly and turned to face Shen Luolin.
She attempted to strike a condescending pose, scrutinizing him with queenly majesty. However, Shen Luolin’s listless, dead-fish eyes clearly reflected her own face, which appeared excessively pale under the moonlight.
This was no overbearing queen; she was clearly a small animal backed into a cliffside, still putting up a front.
Sylvia took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her emotions to make her tone sound more like a blessing than a plea.
“Your family once did a great favor for the Kingdom of Elf. Although you have fallen from grace, the name of the Frostwolf Family still carries weight within the Senate.”
“Therefore, I have chosen you. This is not only a personal honor for you, but also your only chance to restore the glory of your family.”
“You will stand with me at the highly anticipated Founding Day Banquet, accept the blessings of all elves, and put an end to this ridiculous dispute.”
Shen Luolin listened to the entire speech with a blank expression.
‘Wow, she’s really trying to sell me a fantasy here.’
He did not even bother to internally analyze the pros and cons.
A queen who would sneak into a subordinate’s house alone in the middle of the night explained everything—she had no one else to use and no other way out.
In a partnership like this, the initiative was never in her hands from the very beginning.
Her reason for choosing the Frostwolf Family was simple.
Although the Frostwolf Family had declined, they still possessed a ducal bloodline. Selecting a Duke as a fiancé meant her bloodline could not be criticized.
Furthermore, the current destitution of the Frostwolf Family actually served as an advantage in this situation.
Given Sylvia’s current circumstances, if she blindly sought a marriage alliance with a major family, she might end up being the one exploited.
A Duke’s household that was easy to manipulate, possessed noble blood, and had fallen into ruin was her only choice.
This Elven Queen was not entirely stupid.
With that thought, Shen Luolin reached a decision.
While it was not impossible to accept Sylvia’s request, a sense of boundaries was crucial in any partnership.
If he were to submissively follow the unreasonable demands of the client, she would only become more demanding and lose all sense of boundaries in the future.
Even though he was the relatively weaker party, it was important to show his edge when necessary.
There was no need to worry about Sylvia walking away. In a sense, she had no other choice.
Sylvia finally concluded her grand personal speech.
She lifted her chin slightly and offered her price.
“Once this is successful, I will restore the Frostwolf Family’s status in the Kingdom of Elf and grant you the honors you deserve.”
After speaking, she watched Shen Luolin quietly, expecting to see a face full of gratitude or a look of overwhelmed shock.
However, all she received was a slight yawn.
Shen Luolin lazily pulled out a chair from the desk and sat down, directly interrupting her self-indulgent moment.
“Your Majesty, I have no interest in saving the world.”
Under Sylvia’s stunned gaze, he leisurely took out a pen and paper from a drawer.
“Let’s talk about the price instead.”
He picked up the pen and began writing clear lines of text on the clean paper.
“Acting as a fiancé: Base package, 500 gold coins per day.”
“Attending banquets and other high-risk public events: Classified as special working hours, requiring an additional fee of 2,000 gold coins per event.”
“If an assassination occurs during the period and requires my intervention: This is an extra service, billed per instance. Each time will be no less than 5,000 gold coins, with the specific price depending on the level of the assassin.”
Having finished writing, he turned the list toward Sylvia and lightly tapped the paper with his fingertip.
“Oh, right. One week’s deposit is required upfront—3,500 gold coins. This shop does not accept credit, Your Majesty.”
The color drained from Sylvia’s face, only to flush back in the next second.
That list, covered in gold coin amounts, slapped against her dignity as a queen.
She had prepared beautiful words about honor and responsibility for so long, and had even rehearsed various scenarios where he might be grateful or try to haggle. Yet, she never expected him to simply hand her a bill.
When her gaze shifted from that overly handsome yet mercenary face to the list of prices, her tense spine weirdly relaxed for a moment.
She suddenly felt that this… seemed better.
There was no hypocritical loyalty and no heavy debt of gratitude. It was just a clear, pure transaction that could be settled with gold coins.
This gave her a long-lost sense of security, as if she were in control of everything.
It turned out that taking off the crown and acting simply as a client was quite relaxing.
“Fine.”
Sylvia’s answer was short and decisive.
She pulled a coin purse from the Space Ring on her wrist and pushed it across the table.
The fees were indeed a bit high, but they were not beyond what Sylvia could afford.
The financial state of the Frostwolf Family was no secret, but she did not believe a Duke would tear away his final shred of dignity for money.
Unless… he had a bottomless pit of expenses, a hole that forced him to set aside all dignity to fill.
Sylvia suddenly remembered a fixed expenditure mentioned in her intelligence—the Frostwolf Family purchased expensive “Moon’s Tears” potions every month.
‘So that’s how it is.’
She looked at the man before her with his lazy eyes and “don’t touch me” aura. The sliver of anger she felt from being offended strangely subsided.
Behind this mercenary facade, was there an older brother desperate to raise money to save a life?
It was… a bit surprising.
“3,500 gold coins as a deposit.”
Her voice returned to that emotionless, businesslike tone. “I like doing business with smart people. It saves a lot of unnecessary trouble.”
“But you must promise me one—”
*Clink—*
Before Sylvia could finish, she was interrupted by the crisp sound of metal colliding.
Shen Luolin ignored her words entirely. He simply grabbed the coin purse, untied the string, and, under the queen’s icy gaze, slowly poured the gold coins onto the table.
*Clatter—*
The little golden darlings spread across the tabletop, reflecting the moonlight and dazzling the eyes.
Sylvia’s lip twitched violently.
Just a moment ago, she had actually formed a slightly better opinion of him, thinking that beneath this mercenary face lay a brother setting aside his dignity for his family.
But now it seemed that was merely her wishful embellishment.
Look at him!
In those dead-fish eyes, where was there even a hint of concern for a sister?
As for the excuse of doing it for his sister, it was probably just a justification he used to shamelessly hoard wealth.
That small spark of goodwill was instantly extinguished.
Shen Luolin counted the gold coins one by one. After confirming that both the quantity and quality were correct, he contentedly swept all the coins back into the bag and tucked them into his robe.
Only after finishing all this did he finally deign to lift those listless eyes toward the grim-faced queen.
“Alright, the deposit has been received. Now we can talk about your additional conditions.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, though—I won’t do anything that’s too much trouble.”