At the same time, Lucian led the group toward the tall tower.
After Lucian's declaration was repeatedly forwarded on the forum, his popularity finally broke through the 100,000 mark.
[Hand of God: After brief contact with the opponent, randomly copy one of their abilities for personal use. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: twenty-four hours.]
Carlotta stared unblinkingly at Lucian and softly asked, "Lucian, when will you join the Montelli family?"
Lucian sighed, patted Carlotta's head, and said, "Do you still remember what I just said—freedom!"
Carlotta: "?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she guessed, "You're not playing hard to get, are you?"
He had clearly acted like he really wanted to marry into the family before, so why was he suddenly talking about freedom now?
Rover wrapped her arms around Lucian's and smiled, "Lucian is right, you know?"
"Traveling the entire Solaris with me—that's freedom, isn't it?"
"What Lucian means is that he only wants to be with me. As the Second Miss of the Montelli family, you wouldn't fail to understand even this hint, right?"
Carlotta: "?"
She placed her hands on her hips, somewhat dissatisfied, "Who says only traveling the world counts as freedom?"
"In our Montelli family, Lucian can have freedom too."
"As the saying goes, freedom isn't about doing whatever you want—it's about not doing what you don't want to do."
"Does Lucian really want to travel all of Solaris with you? I think he's just submitting to your tyranny."
"But if he joins the Montelli family, it'll be different. With me, the Second Miss, as his guarantor, Lucian can do whatever he wants."
After saying this, Carlotta reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, confident that these words would definitely move Lucian.
Rover: "?"
Lucian imagined the scene and said happily, "That sounds pretty good?"
Rover pinched Lucian's ear, "Good what?"
Lucian counted on his fingers with a smile, "If that's the case, wouldn't all the money in the Averardo Vault become mine?"
Carlotta: "?"
She coughed lightly twice, "Don't misunderstand. Although you can do whatever you want after joining the Montelli family, that doesn't mean you can literally do whatever you want."
"After all, most of the money stored in the Averardo Vault belongs to other people."
Zani held her forehead, feeling helpless. Why did it seem like the Second Miss had been gradually becoming foolish ever since meeting Lucian?
Can someone translate for me—what exactly does "you can do whatever you want, but you can't do whatever you want" mean?
Isn't that the cerebrum attacking the cerebellum, the left brain attacking the right brain?
However, Zani's salary was quite high, so whatever the boss said was right. She wouldn't argue over such small matters.
Still, Zani decided to change the subject—after all, this concerned Carlotta's life-long happiness...
Although the family head valued the Second Miss greatly, the head hadn't stepped down yet. No matter what, the Second Miss probably couldn't fully decide such things on her own.
"By the way, Lucian just said the Echo going out of control wasn't accidental..."
Lucian nodded slightly, "I suspect the Montelli family's traitors are cooperating with the Order of the Deep."
"After all, based on the current clues, only the Order of the Deep and some members of the Fisalia Family possess the Red Spider Lily."
"So this Echo rampage was very likely orchestrated by the Order of the Deep through the traitor to attack us."
Carlotta's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy, "The traitor must be watching us from the shadows and knows we're already very close to the truth."
"I have a feeling the rest of the journey might not go smoothly."
Lucian nodded slightly, "Exactly. That's why I had Zani, the Montelli family's most outstanding employee, come protect us."
Zani: "...Should I say thank you?"
Aside from that, Zani was genuinely grateful to Lucian—he had healed all her injured colleagues.
One had to admit, Lucian's "skill library" was truly vast. Thinking about it this way, her own fighting style was the crude "strength overwhelms all" type.
Lucian raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Just a thank you for something this small? Then how will you thank me when I give you maternity leave later?"
Zani: "?"
Before Zani could respond, Carlotta—who had previously not opposed Zani getting involved with Lucian privately—immediately objected:
"After careful consideration, as the family's most outstanding employee, Zani is indispensable given Ragunna's current situation."
"So I'm sorry, but for now, I cannot allow the two of you to have any deeper relationship, whether at work or in private."
Lucian & Zani: "?"
Zani's delicate eyebrows furrowed as she sucked in a cold breath. Could the Second Miss be jealous?
That doesn't make sense!
The Second Miss should know she's not very interested in romance. Or was the Second Miss just being cautious?
Zani was absolutely certain she would never date Lucian.
Moreover, with so many women around Lucian, she was too lazy to compete.
As for Lucian healing her colleagues... hmm, she'd ask about his hobbies later and give him a small gift...
Lucian walked with his hands behind his head and laughed, "Aiya... I wonder who it was that said they wouldn't interfere with employees' private lives..."
Carlotta's lips curved slightly, "The past is the past, the present is the present."
Lucian snickered, "I never expected the Second Miss to play rogue too?"
Carlotta placed her fair little hand on Lucian's shoulder and whispered, "There are still many things you don't know about me. Why not join the Montelli family soon and find out in depth?"
Her fragrant breath blew against Lucian's ear, making his earlobe turn slightly red.
However, before Lucian could speak, the sharp Rover noticed first.
She slapped away Carlotta's hand from Lucian's shoulder, "Miss Carlotta, poaching someone in front of their fiancée isn't very proper, is it?"
"I think that really lacks the grace of the Montelli family."
Carlotta laughed lightly, "In the face of absolute profit, grace is like a feather—gone with one gust of wind."
"Rather than showing off the Montelli family's grace here, it's clearly better to have Lucian join the family."
Rover sneered, "Did you hear that, Lucian? In Carlotta's eyes, you're nothing but profit, no love. You won't be happy joining the Montelli family!"
Carlotta looked puzzled, "Profit and love shouldn't conflict, right?"
"Though Lucian and I haven't known each other long, feelings can be cultivated slowly..."
"Did you fall in love with him at first sight the moment you met?"