Chapter 147: Blessed her

"Are you certain about this, Missus?" the man asked with an amused grin. "You do realize that, regardless of how things turn out, your life will be over, don’t you?"

The woman remained silent, her narrowed eyes fixed on him. She showed no signs of wavering, nor did she seem particularly concerned by his warning.

Leaning forward, she finally spoke. "No one touches my family. I want you to make sure that everyone who has crossed me understands that."

The man chuckled, tapping the end of his cigar and letting the accumulated ash fall to the ground. He took another leisurely drag before releasing a cloud of smoke.

"I might need something better than what we have at the moment."

The woman’s brows furrowed. "I can’t provide you with any more personnel or funds."

He shook his head. "That’s not what I’m talking about. There’s something far more valuable that I want. Something that could change the entire game."

The woman hummed, silently urging him to elaborate.

Rather than answer immediately, the man reached into his pocket, retrieved his phone, and casually tossed it in her direction.

The butler standing behind her reacted at once, catching the device before it could fall and respectfully handing it to his mistress.

The woman’s gaze dropped to the screen. Her eyes widened as she examined what was displayed, and she immediately looked up at the man.

"You can’t possibly be serious..."

"I am, Missus. Get me this, and I’ll personally see to your targets. Otherwise..." He paused to take another drag before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "You can forget about the entire arrangement."

The woman clenched her jaw. After a moment, she tossed the phone onto the table and rose from her seat.

"I’ll see what I can do."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room, her butler following closely behind.

The man watched her departure with a satisfied grin. Once the door had closed, he tilted his head towards the other man in the room, who had remained completely silent throughout the exchange. In fact, he had been so inconspicuous that the woman and her butler had barely acknowledged his presence.

"What do you say, Red?"

The man, clad in a crimson cloak with the hilt of a blade protruding over his shoulder, gave a slight nod.

"Hmm." The man hummed in satisfaction before flicking the cigar away. "Alright, then. Keep an eye on our targets and get me their files."

There was plenty to take care of, and precious little time to do it.

Still, the prospect brought a grin to his face.

"This is going to be fun~"

...

Around eight that evening, the family of three gathered around the dining table for dinner.

Kai had taken charge of cooking tonight. For the past few days, Jean had been handling all three meals while also keeping the house in order. Although she repeatedly assured him that she wasn’t particularly tired and had no trouble managing everything, Kai couldn’t help feeling guilty about leaving so much of the household work to her.

They had agreed to share the responsibilities, after all. It wouldn’t do for him to leave her with the bulk of the work simply because she was willing to do it.

Besides, he had some time to spare and plenty of ingredients at his disposal, so he decided to put together something a little more elaborate than their usual meals.

He had prepared a chicken pot pie, accompanied by roasted asparagus and a fresh garden salad to balance the richness of the main dish. The combination was hearty without being overwhelmingly heavy, and he had taken his time getting everything just right.

For Elara, he had made a few adjustments to the meal. Her portion of the pie was prepared with her needs in mind, and he had also made some soft mashed potatoes and steamed carrots to go alongside it.

By the time the two girls joined him at the table, both were unusually quiet. Their attention, however, was firmly fixed on the food.

Kai couldn’t help smiling at their reactions. He picked up the serving spoon and began by placing a generous portion of the pie on Jean’s plate.

"Eat a little more from now on," he reminded her.

Jean swallowed as she looked at the freshly baked pie, its golden crust practically begging to be cut into. "I definitely will."

Kai chuckled at her enthusiasm before adding some greens to her plate.

"Anything you’d like to drink?"

"Paaa!"

His little princess immediately protested, bringing her hand down against the table with an impatient little thump.

Jean let out a soft sigh, though the smile on her face betrayed her amusement.

"I’ll bring something to drink. Go ahead and serve Her Highness in the meantime."

Kai smiled helplessly. "As you wish."

He turned his attention to Elara and scooped a generous portion of mashed potatoes and pie into her little panda-themed bowl.

"Someone’s awfully hungry today. And yesterday, before the guests, she was being so dramatic."

Of course, Elara understood none of her complaints. She merely raised both hands towards the bowl, making it abundantly clear that she had no intention of waiting any longer.

Kai chuckled and took his seat beside her. Scooping up a spoonful, he brought it towards her mouth.

Elara immediately wrapped her little hands around his, holding on as though there was a very real possibility that he might drop the food before it reached her.

Once she had secured her prize, she opened her mouth and eagerly accepted the bite.

She polished off nearly half the spoonful in one go, then began chewing with remarkable enthusiasm, her little cheeks puffing up as she worked through the food.

Kai watched her with an affectionate smile.

"Someone’s really enjoying herself."

On the other side of the table, Jean was having much the same reaction. Her eyes had closed as she savoured the first bite, and the pleased expression on her face made it clear that Kai’s efforts had paid off.

He couldn’t help feeling a little proud of himself.

"Don’t hold back. Eat as much as you want. Starting today, we’ll be going out regularly for training."

Jean paused, looking up at him with a hint of surprise.

"Oh? Is that so? But where?"

Kai told her. "There is a gym nearby which Adam said I can borrow around eight to ten. So after eating, let’s go there."

Jean was surprised. "The whole gym for us?"

Kai nodded. "I explicitly told him that I don’t want to let anyone know about your awakening. So yes, it’s his suggestion."

Jean wasn’t surprised he shared it with Adam since with time she herself had started trusting the man.

Kai then remembered something and said. "Right, I got a call from Naomi today."

Jean hummed. "What did she say?"

Kai faintly smiled. "They would be shifted to the new living quarters by this weekend."

Jean paused and looked up in surprise. "This soon?"

Kai nodded in agreement. "I had a chat with the land owner and he said he could provide them jobs worth enough to at least afford the rent and food."

Jean’s lips curved in a happy smile. "This...is great news. I will talk to her after dinner ."

Kai nodded before saying, "I’ll transfer some funds to you. Give them the money. The first month might be a little difficult for them to manage."

Jean paused, looking at him with a hint of surprise.

"Shouldn’t you be giving it to them yourself?"

Kai offered a sheepish smile. "They won’t accept it. You know that. They already feel I’ve done more than enough for them, and I don’t want them to feel indebted to me over this as well."

Jean let out a quiet sigh. "They would know it came from you regardless, but... I understand."

She fell silent for a moment before opening her mouth again.

"I..."

However, whatever she had intended to say seemed to escape her. She hesitated, then shook her head with a faint smile.

Kai hummed, noticing her hesitation. "What is it?"

Jean smiled a little more warmly.

"It’s nothing. I just..." She lowered her gaze briefly before looking back at him. "I keep thinking about how much you’ve blessed me and how profoundly you’ve changed my life."

Kai received her words with a gentle smile. He could tell just how grateful she was and how much she wanted to express, even if she struggled to find the right words.

Jean had never been particularly good at putting her feelings into words. But then again, she didn’t need to be, especially in front of someone who could understand her without requiring her to explain every little thing.

Sometimes, the feelings themselves were more than enough.

Just then, Kai seemed to remember something. His expression brightened slightly as he asked, "Right. Do you have any plans this weekend?"

Jean hummed. "No... Why?"

"We’re going to attend a gathering together."

Jean froze for a moment.

It was going to be the first time she appeared in public, not as a member of the Scarlette family, nor as someone whose identity and standing were defined by her family name.

This time, she would be attending alongside Kai.

As his partner.

The thought alone sent a peculiar sensation through her. There was excitement, certainly, but also a nervousness she couldn’t quite suppress.

’I need to prepare.’