Chapter 365: Choice |
Grace did a thorough inspection of the goods, occasionally speaking out loud to reveal the machinations in her mind.
The wealth in the room could act as the foundation for a small force. It wouldn’t quite be at the level of a Sect, but the goods remained abundant, too many for two people to use or even risk carrying around.
Actually, the most valuable goods had to remain secret. Merely announcing that two measly rooting experts possessed rank 3 resources could attract branching experts. It was simply too dangerous.
And yet, despite those issues, the sorting went smoothly. Grace had a clear idea of the best use for each item. The problem was purely logistical.
Cultivators couldn’t just sell items. They needed proper channels and reputable buyers. Liam and Grace should also avoid revealing the full amount of their possessions since it could stir greed or enable problematic connections.
The news of the claiming of the Archbishop’s inheritance was bound to travel far. If a seller possessing a surprising amount of goods were to appear, any buyer worth their salt would understand where they came from.
The safer option was to approach different buyers, slowly selling the unnecessary wealth, but Liam and Grace probably wouldn’t have that option. It wasn’t just about the unknown environment, either. With the Church’s influence, many were likely to refuse to do business with them.
Of course, that wasn’t Liam’s role in the partnership. He noted down Grace’s comments but knew she would be the one to handle that side of their business. He even trusted she would pull off another of her miracles.
That lack of worries allowed Liam to focus on the unforeseen challenge instead. Part of him believed, or at least hoped, that Grace was just teasing him. It could simply be a new version of her usual banter, but Liam couldn’t take it lightly, and he was the problem there.
In the past, Liam’s cluelessness had stopped him from taking an active role. He simply didn’t know what he wanted to do, but his urges had names now, and he was no pushover.
Except that Liam couldn’t let that happen. He was too serious about his vows to break them, even if just with his mind.
’Should I make myself clearer?’ Liam wondered. ’But I have already said that I have a lover.’
Liam wasn’t even sure whether he was or had already crossed a line. After all, he and Grace hadn’t really done anything. He was the one having strange thoughts.
"Master Liam, I’ll take the ogling as flattery," Grace announced while checking the last items in the pile, "But I wonder if I should put a price on it. I am a maiden after all. My value would suffer if I were so immodest as to ask nothing in return."
Liam shook his head to snap himself off that unbecoming behavior, but Grace turned, wearing a small smile that reclaimed his attention.
"Unless you plan to change my status," Grace exclaimed. "If I were a single maiden no more, I’d obviously be for my partner to ogle, and everything else he desires."
A hammer slammed on Liam’s sanity, but he crossed his arms, believing he couldn’t let things continue like that, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Grace, you should stop this," Liam declared. "It makes me uncomfortable, and I don’t want to do things we’ll both regret."
"I won’t," Grace replied coldly, navigating the maze of goods to approach Liam. "I will make you even more uncomfortable. I will drive you over the edge, manipulating you in every way this life has and will teach me."
Grace stopped before Liam, her arms also crossed, a crazy glint joining her cold eyes.
"Until you get to your knees and beg me to brand you as mine," Grace stated. "At which I’ll say that you have always been my possession."
Liam had been surprised at his own greed, but Grace took the crown there.
"Unless you break your promise and leave me," Grace said. "Our partnership delivered more than I ever imagined. You earned one chance to part ways, but you must decide now."
’Is she serious?’ Liam wondered, trying to rely on his instincts to read Grace’s true intentions, only for her act to be too perfect.
Yet, there wasn’t much to consider. The problem belonged to Liam. He was the one struggling, and he wouldn’t let Grace be the one paying for it.
Between that constant challenge and leaving Grace alone, Liam knew what he preferred.
"We are walking toward our monsters together," Liam stole Grace’s words. "Aren’t we?"
Grace’s act wavered for a second, leaking the anxiety she had hidden behind her cold front. She knew Liam, but she still worried he would have taken the easy way out.
"Good," Grace scoffed. "You chose this, so I don’t want to hear about it again. And, rest assured. I won’t feel any regret."
Those words sounded like an invitation, and Grace’s act broke at that point. She lowered her head in embarrassment, stealing a timid look at Liam, only to turn at the intensity reflected in her vision.
"You can store everything," Grace announced. "I’m done with the sorting."
Liam set the matter aside. He had indeed made his choice, so he would deal with the consequences. He didn’t know what they would be, but he would face the challenge without hesitation now.
The gears in Liam’s brain switched as he crossed Grace and stored everything. He believed they were done, meaning it was almost time to move, but it turned out he had forgotten about something.
"This is your share," Grace reminded as soon as the room became empty, waving her hand to refill it.
Clinking noises resounded, and then more, creating what seemed to be an endless cacophony. Spirit stones upon spirit stones fell and accumulated on the floor, building a translucent sea.
Liam’s memory lit up at that sight. He hadn’t been the only one busy. While he had gone to the inheritance, Grace had sold the alchemical products he had concocted in the Roaring Thunder Sect, and there had been close to three hundred of them.
"Thirty thousand spirit stones," Grace declared, "Each."
