Chapter 724 Booking for Dates

Willow chewed the small piece of grilled meat she had cut before swallowing.

"Hmm."

She made a pleased sound, briefly lowering her fork.

"This is nice, Vera. I really didn’t know you were good at cooking."

She said, cleaning her mouth with the white napkin placed beside her plate.

"I’m doing my best learning for the time when I become a wife."

Vera replied casually as she gazed at Ezra.

She didn’t stop eating or make any effort to hide the direction of her gaze.

Ezra looked back at her plainly before turning his attention to his plate and taking another bite of the grilled meat.

He didn’t offer a comment.

"I really didn’t know you practiced your cooking skills."

Selena said with an elegant, pleased expression.

She had been enjoying the meal as well.

The taste of the grilled meat was quite good, and the fact that Vera had prepared it herself made the experience more interesting.

"I also practice cooking. As an elegant lady of Gale and Britannia, it’s only right to know how to cook, so I can please my future husband on occasions when we want to spend some time alone together."

She said with a bright, graceful smile.

It was clear that she genuinely loved the idea of personally cooking for her future spouse.

Just the two of them, alone in their mansion.

She was already beginning to imagine how such a moment would be.

The thought of preparing a meal for her husband and spending a quiet evening together was quite appealing to her.

Her smile remained for a moment.

Then she quickly brushed the thought aside before her imagination could go too far.

Instead...

Selena returned her attention to the reason she had come.

"Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke."

She called his name.

"Yes."

Ezra answered calmly.

He looked towards her, waiting for her to continue.

"About our previous discussion."

She said lightly.

"Discussion?"

Willow looked at Selena, then at Ezra, with a curious expression.

She hadn’t known the two had something to discuss beforehand.

Her eyes moved between them again, waiting to see what Selena would say next.

Nina, meanwhile, kept her attention on Vera.

Lucy and Lyra were too busy enjoying their food to pay much attention to the conversation.

The servants of Willow, Selena, and Zack watched the Flowers quietly.

Zack simply continued eating without focusing too much on what was going on.

Hermione was also eating, though she was simultaneously serving Diane, who was too lazy to pick up a fork, let alone hold both a knife and fork.

She picked up a small piece of grilled meat and brought it to Diane’s mouth.

Diane opened her mouth and bit down, chewing slowly.

"Don’t forget to chew properly, my lady, and swallow."

Hermione reminded her.

Considering how lazy Diane could become when she was tired, the possibility of her simply leaving the food in her mouth without bothering to chew or swallow was quite high.

Diane continued chewing without making much of a response.

Hermione waited until she had swallowed before preparing another piece.

"Yeah, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke and I had some things to discuss before."

Selena said calmly.

She made the conversation sound rather personal, as though there had been something between her and Ezra that the others weren’t aware of.

Willow’s curiosity grew.

She glanced towards Ezra again, but he didn’t seem particularly interested in explaining what the discussion had been about.

Vera turned her dull eyes towards Selena.

"You might have called him at night."

She said plainly.

"The amazing audacity. Even in my own residence."

Vera added, as though she had been offended by Selena’s behaviour.

However, her expression said otherwise.

She continued eating, showing no sign of being genuinely troubled by the remark she had just made.

"When did I ever say that?"

Selena replied calmly.

"So, our Elegant Lady is lying?"

Vera asked casually.

"I didn’t deny anything either, Vera."

Selena replied, doing her best to maintain her composure.

She had wanted to make Vera curious, perhaps even flustered, but the other girl was turning the conversation around on her with very little effort.

"Carry on, then."

Vera waved her hand lazily.

Selena looked at her with faint frustration.

She had almost managed to make Vera feel flustered.

That had been her intention when she mentioned her previous discussion with Ezra, hoping to show that she was already getting closer to him.

But things had gone quite differently from what she expected.

Vera hadn’t even given her the satisfaction of a proper reaction.

Instead, she had turned the whole exchange into another opportunity to tease her.

Well...

That wasn’t her true goal, anyway.

Selena hadn’t come to the residence simply to provoke Vera.

She had something to discuss with Ezra, and she still intended to bring it up.

Ezra noticed that the girls had finished their exchange and decided to respond to Selena.

"I’ll send the contract through an email, so don’t worry about that."

He said plainly.

He had already considered the matter from a practical point of view.

There was a contract to discuss, and sending it through an email would allow Selena to review the details without needing to arrange another meeting immediately.

"No."

Selena replied almost immediately.

Despite the suddenness of her answer, she managed to maintain her elegant and light tone.

"I want us to go out... Hmm."

She paused and adjusted her throat.

Willow narrowed her eyes on Selena.

She had already noticed that Selena was being unusually deliberate with her words.

The mention of a previous discussion had caught her attention, and now the girl was apparently asking Ezra to go somewhere with her.

"What I mean is that we should discuss it more in person because I have some questions to ask. So, I was wondering if we could go on a date to discuss the contract?"

Selena calmly asked Ezra.

She kept her smile as she waited for his answer.

Ezra looked at her for a moment.

A date?

He briefly considered the proposal.

Well, it does help build a stronger relationship with a top talent in the music industry, like her.

And if I’m going to gain connections for my future goal, then this shouldn’t be a problem.

He had no particular reason to reject the suggestion.

Selena was someone with a massive growing influence in the music industry, and maintaining a good relationship with her could prove useful in the future.

Besides, the purpose of their meeting was still to discuss the contract.

There were business matters involved, and meeting in person would give them an opportunity to go through the details properly.

He could also hear the questions she wanted to ask before they finalized anything.

He saw no reason to make the request more complicated than it was.

"Okay. Just send me the date you’re most comfortable with. I’ll let you know if that day doesn’t work for me. As for the place, we can discuss it when you send the date."

Ezra replied calmly.

He had already agreed to the meeting.

There was no need to make a bigger matter out of it.

"Okay. Okay."

Selena repeated the words.

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Her hand quickly rose to cover her mouth, as though she had suddenly become aware of how pleased she looked.

"Alright."

She said calmly, still covering part of her face.

Her maid smiled as well.

Selena’s reaction was difficult to miss, especially for someone who had accompanied her long enough to understand how much she wanted the meeting to happen.

Willow, on the other hand, had been watching the exchange.

She had initially been curious about the discussion Selena mentioned, but now the conversation had taken a rather unexpected direction.

"Ezra Ashenlocke."

Willow called his name firmly.

Ezra turned towards her.

"I would also like to ask you on a date because I have something important, I would like to discuss with you."

Willow said straightforwardly.

Unlike Selena, she didn’t try to hide her intention behind a playful introduction.

She simply stated what she wanted and waited for Ezra’s response.

Ezra looked at her.

Another date?

He didn’t immediately respond.

Selena’s request had already been settled, and now Willow was making a similar request for something she considered important.

He had no reason to refuse her either.

If she had something to discuss, he could hear her out.

However, he would need to arrange the dates properly.

"Okay, please just do the same as I told Lady Selena."

Ezra said calmly, accepting Willow’s request.

"Alright."

Willow simply replied, returning back her gaze to the food in front of her.

"Two dates in one day, and one afternoon, in my own residence, for my own Inventor."

Vera said as she calmly cleaned her mouth with her napkin.

She glanced at Ezra.

"Booking for Dates."

She added.

Her tone was casual, but she clearly had no intention of letting the situation pass without making a comment.

"Nothing wrong with that."

Ezra replied plainly.

He had already considered the practical side of both requests.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about how Vera chose to describe them.

He was simply agreeing to meet two people who had something to discuss with him.

"Well, I’ll be a good girl, as I always have been, and let you off this time. So, you can go break their hearts and come back to me like the good boy you are."

Vera said casually before dropping the napkin onto her plate.

Vera was done eating.

"What do you mean by that, Vera?"

Willow asked with a stiff expression.

She had been listening to Vera’s remarks, and the last one had clearly caught her attention.

"Oh, you’ll never understand, Homewrecker-Two."

Vera replied with an amused smile, looking sideways at Willow at her side.

"Also, you two, Homewrecker-One."

She added.

Selena briefly imagined sticking out her tongue to mock Vera.

But that wouldn’t have been a proper display of elegance.

So, she simply laughed lightly and brushed Vera’s words aside.

Her hand remained near her mouth for a moment before she lowered it, returning to her usual composed manner.

Meanwhile...

Ezra narrowed his eyes at Vera for a moment.

He was already done eating, but he was waiting for Lucy to finish hers.

He didn’t seem particularly bothered by the exchange between the three girls. However, Vera’s choice of words had clearly caught his attention.

He eventually returned his gaze to the table.

Willow decided to change the topic.

She began talking about what had happened after Ezra left the Mix Arena while the program was still ongoing.

Her attention shifted away from the dates and towards the events that had taken place during the remaining speeches.

She criticized Vera for cutting in line immediately after Stacy Brittan, when it should have been Ravenor’s turn.

Vera listened without showing much concern.

According to Willow, there had been no reason for Vera to take the next turn when Ravenor was supposed to speak.

However, Ravenor had calmly allowed her to take his place.

He had done so because he didn’t want to get involved in any situation with Vera.

Willow seemed to find the whole matter rather amusing despite her criticism.

She knew Ravenor well enough to understand why he had chosen not to make an issue out of it.

Vera, on the other hand, didn’t appear to see anything wrong with what she had done.

The two also recollected how the supporters of Willow and Vera had ended up in a mass argument.

It had become quite a scene.

Their supporters had begun arguing over the candidates, with both sides defending the people they believed were more suitable for the position.

What should have been a program where the candidates presented their positions had briefly turned into a dispute between their supporters.

The matter had been discussed among the students even after the speeches continued.

There had been other addresses worth discussing as well.

Prince Charles Aethelmont had delivered an exciting speech about unity and his own beliefs regarding leadership.

His address had focused on bringing people together and the importance of having a common direction.

He had presented his view of what a leader should represent, rather than making the entire matter about individual strength or status.

The speech had given the students something to consider, especially those who were looking for a representative capable of uniting different groups within the Academy.

Ravenor Burnwick, on the other hand, had been straightforward.

His speech was about helping students actually grow, rather than simply trying to catch up with the top students and the naturally talented ones.

He had used Veda Ashenlocke as an example.

Rather than making the entire discussion about competing with the strongest students, Ravenor spoke about the importance of general training and general class study sessions.

His point was that students needed opportunities to improve their own abilities, not just pressure to match those who were already ahead of them.

The example of Veda had helped make his point clearer.

There were students who couldn’t simply follow the same pace as the Academy’s top talents.

They needed room to develop their own strengths, and the Academy’s general activities could play an important role in that process.

There had been several other parts of the program that caught the students’ attention.

The candidates had presented different views on leadership, and some had focused on issues that directly affected the students’ daily lives.

The program had been filled with moments that made many students see who truly meant well for them.

The conversation around the table continued for a few minutes.

They moved from the candidates’ speeches to the arguments among their supporters, then returned to some of the points raised during the program. The discussion didn’t remain fixed on one subject for long.

Ezra listened when necessary, occasionally directing his attention towards whoever was speaking.

Vera remained composed, while Willow continued expressing her opinions about the events. Selena also took part in the conversation, and the others gradually joined in whenever something caught their interest.

Before long, those few minutes stretched into hours.

The group continued enjoying their meal and talking until the grill party finally came to an end.

After everything had been cleaned up...

Lucy and Hermione packed the box crates containing the goods from the Duke of Berg into the boot of the Royal Phantom Rolls.

They checked the arrangement to make sure everything had been properly secured before closing the boot.

Lucy then entered the driver’s seat and started the steam engine.

The familiar mechanical sound filled the quiet premises as the Royal Phantom Rolls came to life.

Ezra sat calmly inside the passenger seat.

He raised a hand and waved once at Vera and the others as Lucy drove away.

The black and shade of purple vehicle gradually moved out of the residence, carrying the goods he had come to collect.

With that, his visit to the West Wing had finally come to an end.

But the dates he had agreed to were still ahead of him.