Chapter 164: Aman’s Chip on His Shoulder

Chapter 164

Aman’s Chip on His Shoulder

The city ownership contract was finally completed. At last, Ellie had no reason to refuse any longer. Even though taking control of the city meant she had to let Young Lord Owen’s men overseer, which would inevitably reveal her position completely...even if she didn’t accept it, she wondered if she could still hide under the guise of Luke?

This young lord was too terrifying. She didn’t even know the extent of his powers. His fierce gaze was filled with countless schemes, so much so that Ellie thought he was even more cunning than the second young lord, who the author described as deviously clever. In fact, she now understood much better why this eldest young lord had to die. If he hadn’t died according to the storyline...his intimidating aura would have completely overshadowed Aman. Ultimately, someone like Aman would be seen as just a lovable, good-natured kid in comparison to this great young lord!

Clap, clap, clap

The applause began with Steven, the head of the family, who always believed that whatever his son did was marvelous. Besides, he knew well that Ellie was valuable enough to receive such a precious gift.

When the family head had no objections, others had to swallow their envy with difficulty and applaud the girl who suddenly received such good fortune.

“Truly remarkable. I never thought the Setter family would be this generous,” the Emperor nearly bit his tongue to hold back his jealousy. However, his accumulated experience allowed him to maintain his composure.

“You flatter us, Your Majesty. It’s not the Setter family that is generous, but rather my son. The city given as a gift was solely my eldest son’s decision. Before coming to the party, he said he was going to fetch a gift for a lady he admired and left with only his trusted aide. He did not use the family’s power to seize the city at all.”

“Even though I mentioned to him that next time he could borrow the Setter family’s power, so those who received resources without effort wouldn’t feel guilty, whereas others had to use great force, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not. Yet, my son is quite stubborn.”

Steven laughed contentedly. The color of the city-controlling stone Ellie received indicated it was a 4th-floor city, which gave him some peace of mind. If Owen had gifted a 6th-floor city, even Steven might have wept.

“Is that so? It seems the Setter family has indeed received a gift from the gods. But won’t you reveal a bit about who this young lady is and why she’s so fortunate to capture the heart of a man who has never truly experienced the world?”

This question was not only on the Emperor’s mind but also on everyone else’s. People in this gathering all wanted to see the identity of the girl behind the mask. However, the head of the Setter family merely laughed.

“Please be patient, Your Majesty. There is still a dance party hosted by the Setter family to welcome everyone. We hope you will enjoy the festivities tonight.”

Steven stepped forward, and then a small figure of a young girl, a daughter from the Setter family, who had been waiting, came out to join him. They paired up to open the event. The next pair would naturally be the eldest young lord of the Setter family and the girl on the stage. Aman made eye contact with Ellie and winked. He then approached Nara, who was still confused by the situation, and bowed to her.

"If you don’t mind, would you be my dance partner?" Hearing this, the young girl’s heart pounded rapidly.

She had thought she might have to pair up with one of the older men around her. These people approached her because they believed she was someone the second young lord valued. Although Nara hadn’t said much about this, she didn’t want to reveal that she had no real connection and was just a coincidental attendee.

Of course, as soon as Aman approached her, many eyes were immediately drawn in their direction. While the main focus of today’s event was the Eldest Young Lord, it wasn’t as if the Second Young Lord Aman, who had long been famous, wouldn’t attract attention!

"Yes, Second Young Lord," Nara replied with the sweetest smile she could muster, thinking it was her most beautiful expression. Aman would have rolled his eyes if he didn’t have to perform his role to the best of his ability.

Just seeing Nara’s actions, he understood her simple-minded intentions. She was a girl who wanted to climb to the top, regardless of who the person might be, as long as it allowed her to look down on others. To Aman...people like this were utterly repugnant!

"Wh-why did the Second Young Lord ask me to dance? After all, I’m just...." Nara looked up at the man before her, and the more she looked, the more she saw his stunning beauty clearly.

She actually wanted to ask where Ellie was but feared the answer would be what she suspected. Nara glanced at the small figure at the front, waiting for the music to start. No matter how she looked, the figure seemed so familiar, like someone she knew very well. However, she didn’t want it to be true! Torn between curiosity and fear of the truth, Nara ultimately chose to ignore and not mention Ellie.

"Why wouldn’t it be you? Ellie was the one who asked you to join the event. If I didn’t give you importance...she would surely be angry with me," Aman laughed.

What Nara thought in her heart was unknown, but Aman’s words were certainly true. Ellie had indeed requested her presence to act as "bait" this time. Hence, he needed to give Nara some importance; otherwise, the culprit wouldn’t be convinced that the lady before them was the same "scholarship student." If Ellie’s plan failed because he didn’t want to approach this repugnant woman, he would undoubtedly face her reproachful glares afterward. That was the only reason he had to invite Nara to dance.

"Ellie asked you to..."

“Mmm, she also asked me to invite you to dance,” Aman laughed softly. If Nara found out why she was invited...who knew if she’d be so furious that she might cough up blood.

“S-so...where is Ellie now?”

“Hmm? You...Don’t you already know? Ellie must be with her fiancé. After all, she’s the future lady of the Setter family,” Aman raised his eyebrows slightly. He understood why Nara was acting this way.

The girl’s expressions, attempting to mask her emotions but failing to do so completely, made it clear she was intensely jealous of Ellie. It wasn’t surprising she felt this way. Throughout, Nara’s behavior had clearly shown what she wanted. As soon as she saw someone who had been lower than her rise to a higher position, Nara must have been wishing for something bad to happen to that person.

But wasn’t Nara’s behavior quite amusing? So instead of calming her down, Aman chose words that would provoke her even more.

And if you asked why he did this...the simple reason might be because he found it entertaining!

“T-The future lady of the Setter family...Are you saying Ellie is the woman with the Eldest Young Lord?”

“Yes, you’ve got it right. But then again, she’s dressed so differently that you didn’t recognize her, did you? I have to say, my brother really cares for her. Look at the outfit she’s wearing. Do you think 500,000 gold coins would be enough to buy it? Impossible! That one outfit alone could feed an entire city and keep its people well-off.

“Look at each piece of jewelry she’s wearing, all handpicked by my brother. Imagine how much power it took to acquire them. Especially that piece in the center of her head; it’s valued at a trillion gold coins at auction, but no one dared to bid on it. So, she ended up with those precious items.”

Aman pointed out the wealth adorning Ellie’s body to Nara. As expected, Nara trembled as if she would scream if Aman continued talking!

"But you see, she dresses like this because it suits the title of the lady of the Setter family head. Anything less, and she would surely be laughed at," Aman whispered. His intent was to provoke Nara further, and he also needed to appear familiar with her, which required him to move closer.

"Hmph...Isn’t Ellie your lover? Everyone at the institute believes that," Nara suppressed her emotions and reconfirmed this point.

"Hmm? Does everyone think so? Haha, it’s understandable. Whether she’s my lover or my brother’s, as long as she becomes the lady of the Setter family head, it doesn’t matter! But now that my brother is healthy again, she should be by his side as it should be."

"What do you mean?"

"Don’t you know about the fact that Ellie’s father saved my brother’s life in the past? Because of that, our Setter family has always been indebted to him. My father had announced that his daughter would become the next lady of the Setter family to show gratitude. Actually, our family doesn’t like marrying with large families. It’s too tedious to get entangled with various power groups."

Aman shrugged, making it seem like this was common knowledge that everybody knew. Nara could only nod in understanding. She glanced at Ellie standing next to the eldest young lord of the Setter family before turning back to Aman.

"And...how is your relationship with your brother? Didn’t you almost become the family head before? But as soon as your brother recovered, you unfortunately lost that position, didn’t you?"

Nara brought this up to observe Aman’s reaction. She wanted to know his thoughts on the matter. Besides...if she had to compare frankly, the eldest young lord, who seemed unapproachable and exceptionally talented, was at the position that did not need her. In contrast, Nara felt that the handsome Second Young Lord Aman, who seemed to have a "chip on his shoulder," was much easier to approach and use as a tool.

Originally, she felt that Ellie was far too lucky. Previously, she had said that Ellie wouldn’t become the lady of the Setter family because she herself was Young Lord Aman’s lover, not knowing that Ellie and Young Lord Aman didn’t have that kind of relationship. In the end, when Ellie still ended up being the eldest young lord’s partner, it felt like a slap in the face. As a result, Ellie remained the future lady of the Setter family. This anger made Nara want to grab Ellie and kill her on the spot, especially since she came here to find an opportunity to get close to the eldest young lord and become the real future lady.

However, now she no longer felt envious of Ellie, who was with the eldest young lord. Looking at the Second Young Lord Aman, who was willing to do anything despicable to succeed, as long as he shared her mindset, Nara was ready to help him and ensure he became the sole heir of the Setter family!!

Of course, such a malicious thought didn’t come out of her mouth, but it was clear in her eyes. Was Aman a fool? He lived in the great Setter family. There wasn’t a day when he didn’t have to deal with the main and branch family members or face problems with people from other families. Thus, he could see through people’s schemes easily.

Nara’s bright eyes asked the question clearly, revealing her desires. Wasn’t it quite amusing?

“Sigh, as for me, my elder brother is truly strong and suitable for the position of family head,” Aman waved his hand dismissively. But the more he acted like this, the more Nara’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Do you really think so? Even though you’ve done everything for the Setter family all along, while at that time the Eldest Young Lord was still recovering?”

“....................” Aman didn’t respond. In truth, as soon as he heard the girl’s words, he almost choked her and threw her against the wall to teach her what it meant to be someone who loves his brother dearly. If it wasn’t for the fact that he allowed her to speak such nonsense, he would have done so.

“My lord...I know you must be hurting too. But...you don’t have to bear this pain alone, because I will stand by your side, listen to you, and be the only one who understands you.”

Nara locked eyes with him with determination, her demeanor was the same as when she had once used on the old Ellie. The sincerity she tried to project had once led the old Ellie to fall so deeply for her that she was willing to sacrifice her life.

The only unfortunate thing was that Nara played on the wrong "chip."

Aman never had a desire to be the family head. He never thought about snatching the position from his brother, nor did he ever consider harming his beloved elder brother. His true wish was to see his brother happy and to protect him forever. However, when he looked at his brother’s back now, he saw only a towering mountain bearing the family’s hopes.

Whenever the topic of “family head” came up, Aman felt that everyone was just adding to his brother’s burdens. He wanted to help as much as he could, but the gap between their abilities was too vast to bridge.

His elder brother, using only his talent, had conquered a 6th-floor city, treating a 4th-floor city as a mere stroll in the park. Meanwhile, Aman himself struggled just to complete tasks in a 2nd-floor city.

It was no wonder he felt despondent whenever he thought about his and his brother’s future...It had nothing to do with what Nara was saying.

If Nara had expressed her desire to support him in becoming stronger to aid his brother, or if she had offered to listen to his woes as a weaker person and encouraged him to keep fighting, promising that one day he would be able to help his brother in some way, that would have been much more appealing to him and might have changed his view of her.

It was truly unfortunate that Nara had made the wrong move...

The heroine of the story also made a mistake on this point. Unlike in the novel, where she had learned by chance just how much Aman loved his brother and was devoted to finding the Tezetrons’s flower to cure him. After obtaining it and healing his brother, Nara’s position in Aman’s heart was very high because she had been the only one to sacrifice everything to help his brother with all her might.

In the current storyline, Nara never knew what Owen had gone through, and so she could never seize the opportunity to score points with this wicked young lord again...