Because of that marriage application, Theresa went from being in a mood to demand an explanation to acting as if she had forgotten the matter entirely in the next second. She completely changed her attitude and began to earnestly and painstakingly persuade Lierre.
She only hoped that Lierre would give up on seeking a death wish and stop actively provoking Otto.
To make her persuasion successful, Theresa not only brought up Kiana but also began to list the miserable consequences of being wanted by Schicksal, describing them with vivid imagery.
Lierre only felt like a fly was buzzing in her ear, letting Theresa's words go in one ear and out the other.
She stared at Theresa's pretty face, and before long, her mind wandered off into a daze.
I wonder if there are any fun places in St. Freya Academy. Can Theresa handle it when I start causing trouble?
"Hey! Are you even listening to me!" Theresa saw that Lierre wasn't taking her words to heart at all and grew a bit anxious.
"I'm listening."
Lierre snapped back to reality, gave a slight nod, and said smoothly, "I get what you mean, but isn't it a bit too late to turn back now?"
"It's not late! Not late at all!"
Theresa was so moved she nearly shed tears. She then promised, "Don't worry, in a few days I'll go to Schicksal Headquarters to see Grandpa and find a reason to gloss over our business. When the time comes, you just cooperate with me and admit you were wrong, and there's a high probability everything will be fine."
"No! I don't think I'm wrong!"
"Don't be willful about this! Did you actually understand the meaning of what I said earlier?"
"Of course I understand, but asking me to apologize to Otto? Impossible! Just to be clear, I'm not some saint; there's no logic in returning money once it's reached my hands!"
"I think you're deliberately making things difficult for me!"
Theresa's breathing became rapid, and she felt her blood pressure rising.
Lierre's refusal to cooperate caused the difficulty of resolving this matter to skyrocket.
Furthermore, the sum of money Otto sent was no small amount. Even if she turned her private vault upside down, there was no way to fill that hole.
After all, most of her funds had been invested into St. Freya Academy; she didn't have much surplus grain on hand.
Theresa's heart sank. This is going to be difficult. Grandpa isn't someone easily fooled. Now the best solution is to let the fake act become real...
Theresa looked at Lierre's exquisite and cute face, then covered her heating cheeks with both hands.
If this really happened, her reputation for the rest of her life would be utterly ruined; she might even end up disgraced and discredited.
Lierre looked far too "illegal."
"Ugh... were you sent by the heavens to punish me?" Theresa became utterly despondent.
"No, I'm here to redeem you." Lierre patted her shoulder gently.
The people of the world were suffering, and she was the only true redemption!
Theresa lowered her head slightly and asked in a calm tone, "...Are you really not going to cooperate with me?"
"This is a matter of principle, so I will never back down!"
Lierre would rather be hunted by Schicksal than bow her head and admit fault to Otto!
"Fine, fine, fine..."
Theresa said the word "fine" several times in a row, then she closed her eyes and shouted in self-abandonment, "You forced my hand! Since you're unwilling to return my dowry, then we'll just get married. We must wed within five years—no refusals allowed!"
"Sure!"
"Eh...?"
"By the way, to prevent you from regretting it and playing foul, I've already recorded those words and thoughtfully sent a copy to Otto." Lierre nodded in agreement without a moment's hesitation.
She was the one who threatened others; there was no logic in letting others threaten her.
The one with nothing to lose doesn't fear the one with shoes!
Theresa, who dared to threaten her, had to be sentenced to the penalty of being disgraced and discredited!
Lierre made full use of taking things out of context. She only recorded the second half: "Then we'll just get married. We must wed within five years—no refusals allowed!"
"What did you say!!!"
Theresa's expression changed drastically. She scrambled to snatch Lierre's phone, only to find she was too late!
The email had already been sent.
Ding-dong!
Otto was very efficient; an email arrived shortly after.
Seeing this, Theresa's face turned ashen. She then opened the email with trembling fingers.
[Otto: Hahaha, at first I thought you and Theresa were teaming up to play a joke on me. But this is fine too; Theresa has indeed reached the age to marry. Any longer and she truly would have become an old maid that nobody wants. In two weeks, I will bring the engagement gifts to visit you and Theresa. By the way, start calling me Grandpa along with Theresa from now on.]
It's over...
Theresa felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She slumped weakly onto the floor, her previously bright eyes becoming dull and lifeless.
She had thought her final resort would force Lierre to back down; after all, the other party didn't actually intend to marry her, so surely she wouldn't take things too far.
But who knew... who knew Lierre would play so hard, leaving her absolutely no way out.
Now it was all over. Not only was that hundred million dollars not coming back, but now she was handing herself over as well.
Lierre squatted down, her right hand gently stroking Theresa's fair, soft cheek, the corners of her mouth curling slightly. "We'll be family from now on. You must be a dutiful wife, okay?"
Boing!
Upon hearing those words, the string named Sanity snapped once again!
"I'll kill you!!!"
Theresa tackled Lierre to the ground, gritting her teeth as she reached out both hands to strangle her neck!
Some time passed.
The people near the bridge occasionally stole glances at Theresa and Lierre, the fires of gossip burning in their eyes.
Theresa sat on a seat near the bridge, holding a bottle of bitter melon juice. She tilted her head back and downed it with a glug-glug-glug, looking very much like someone drowning their sorrows in "drink."
"It's so bitter... but I'm not losing out. At least St. Freya Academy has gained an S-rank Valkyrie. This is a massive profit. That's right, a massive profit!
With Lierre joining us, I'll have more confidence in protecting Kiana and the others in the future. I absolutely cannot let the tragedy of the past repeat itself before my eyes!"
Through constant self-hypnosis, Theresa had slowly convinced herself.
As the old saying goes, life is like that—if you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it.
After finishing the entire bottle of bitter melon juice, Theresa stole a glance at Lierre, who was propping up her chin with a preoccupied look. She immediately let out a cold snort in her heart.
Heh, regretting it now? Why didn't you think of that earlier! You're the reason things have developed this way. You turned my life into a total mess—don't think you're getting off scot-free!
Lierre was secretly pondering how she could cause a major stir once she reached St. Freya Academy.
The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang, and the Celestial Fu Hua were also at St. Freya Academy right now. Who would be the best choice to mess with?
If she just kept picking on Theresa, it would be a bit like bullying.