—"So, what you gonna do?"

—"I won't back down. I'll face him." I say in crystal clear voice, showing my determination.

The King of Lust... what kind of man he is? I can't see him as a good person since I don't believe that Diana could've done something bad to him. Actually... I'll ask him something that should've asked earlier.

—"You know Diana's story?"

This is something that was on my mind since today morning. Why she's treated that way? She was a good person to me. Her attitude was caring and gentle, so I can't see her deserving hell in her life like he said.

Lisa's father looks at me with a worried face. Again, Diana's past sounds more mysterious to me. These reactions to her are killing me with curiosity.

—"I... Don't know very much. Only a part of the story, and is related to why now we got a plan. Plan of pure recklessness, if I have to say."

He clears his throat, and lighting a pipe that was in his pocket, starts to tell me.

—"I only heard about her after she was already a prostitute. So I'll explain a little of the process, I think it'll be easier. Diana was the most famous Flower Girl of her generation.

Like I said, Flower Girls are raised to fit the tastes of man. So they go to a chosen school from one of our affiliates and have special training together with common class. Cooking, conversation, sewing, economics, business, and knowledge are a few examples. The idea is, they can be useful for the person that buys one, so you can somehow imagine why a person wants a Flower Girl.

For example, I was married to Erica, that ended as some sort of housewife, taking care of Lisa, buying daily things, being with me when I was at home... These kind of things. I heard stories of some of them as company representatives, managers, counselors, diplomats, etc."

Hmm... I think I get it... Since the girls are smart, a person can have less issues in aspects of life. But... I think I know what comes next.

-"These are the good cases, right?" I ask him, as he nods and his expression turns to a sad one.

-"Yeah... Some are treated as nothing. I already saw girls filled with bruises, mental problems from overwork... It's problematic. The girl is supposed to accept any kind of relationship with the owner, so it's not a rule for her to be a wife. Some are used for pregnancies, threesomes, rape-play, gangbang... A few manage somehow, but you can imagine the burden in their minds and hearts, right?"

Honestly, it's harsh. Treating a human being as an item, a doll... This society is really complicated. In one entire day, I feel like I discovered a new world... And at the same time the worst we can have on it. Many people probably had lost something or someone important to this reality.

—"Diana got the highest value in an auction. 200 trillion Crescents."

...THIS IS ABSURD! SO MUCH MONEY... A person with this value... It's crazy. In fact, a person having a value is crazy.

—"What happened is... The current King of Lust was one of the many people that wanted Diana. But at that time, he was a pawn and his money wasn't enough. So he together with many others incessantly challenged her owner.

Eventually, the King reached the position that he has now. He ruthlessly took everything from everyone that wanted her and moved to acquire her. But he couldn't."

So this guy is obsessed with her... I can see where this is going.

—"Diana's owner died. He left a last will: Diana is now a donation to The Rings, she can work to buy herself. She was in many jobs on the way, so I don't know how she ended a prostitute. But what I know is that the King will challenge everyone that had her. The problem is, every person that had her now is dead. So you're probably his new target."

So she was working on the brothel for this? She said that was retiring... She reached that quota of money? And... I'll duel with a King right from the start? For god's sake.

—"So you can duel with a King, that's your first step. Challenges usually have many deals, you can try using something to help Lisa, but it's really dangerous. The King will challenge you until you bet your life. After he wins, he's gonna say for you to commit suicide. I'm sorry for playing with your life kid, I suggest to use one deal as last will. I can protect her afterwards."

Urgh. This really is bad. Something like, "promise to end Lisa's marriage.", then die after.

But I'm not planning to die. I promised Lisa to not left her alone. I promised Diana to share our stories. Jenny and Uncle are waiting at home. So I'll win this, and go home with everyone.

—"Mr. Woods, can you explain to me how a challenge works? We have to plan."

So we started talking about everything we could, and some hours passed until night cames.

---

 

—"Well, a challenge can be card games, fights, sports... anything. For example a coin. My bet is head and I want you to end Lisa's marriage. Your bet is tails and you want to marry Lisa. If the two agree, the challenge is on. The standard is 5 rounds, but you can bet more rounds."

I think I get it... It's really vague. I don't have many ways to measure the worth of the bets. I can bet "All the assets he has" for example, and "All the money he has", but the two can be different. I think that the more specific, better. I think that I'll get on the way.

—"You know about past duels of this King?" I ask him.

He puts a hand on his chin as if pondering and answers.

—"He's kinda tricky, be aware. Try always bet something physical, his verbal bets are dangerous. It's always easier when the bet turns to money, so in your case, you must be smart."

Just like I thought. The use of words is valuable.

While I keep thinking, he says as if remembering something.

—"Ah, others can be involved. Let's take your friend Dean. You can bet something based on him. You said that he plays soccer. You can bet based on his goals, kicks, that kind of thing. And kid... the thing about the police that he said, forget it."

Huh?

—"What do you mean?"

—" The Cayden's know the people here. Pressing charges, he just wasted his time. They can make the file disappear. I'm talking about corruption, you get it?"

Ah... Dean never gonna have answers. I think I understand what he's saying.

—"So this society is untouchable? The only one that can change something is the society itself?"

He nods in silence.

Shit... This is really hard to digest. But I think I'll take his idea. Dean deserves to know about this. I don't wanna keep this a secret from him.

—"It's getting late, let's rest for now. Why don't you stay here with Lisa tonight? Sorry to say, but this can be the last. And... Don't tell her about the content of our talk."

He's really expecting me to lose... But I have a trump card. I'm an unknown, so the element of surprise is mine.

So we leave that small room, and I see Lisa right in front of the door. She probably has been waiting all this time.

—"Father?" She asks, with a worried tone.

—"He's gonna stay here tonight." He says looking at me as if giving up.

Hey. I know what you're thinking. Don't look at me as if I'm on death's door.

She opens her eyes wide, and a great smile appears in her face. She goes to her father and hugs him while saying.

—"Thank you, papa! He's gonna sleep in my bedroom, right?"

Oh... He's looking at me... Lisa, please. Don't say things that cause misunderstandings. Well, not that I have the right to say something, based in these last days.

—"Fine, fine. Let's eat dinner, then you can spend time together." He says with a slightly grim face.

Now I think that the one who's gonna be after me is not that King anymore.

---

 

We had dinner a few minutes ago, a delicious stew with pork, lentils, carrots, onion, and red peppers. The rooms here were really big. The furniture sounded old, reflecting the great quality of woodworking it has. A few portraits and paintings were on the wall. The dinner was on a great table, that had 12 seats. Her father was in one of the corners, and me together with Lisa on the other side. On fancy porcelain plates and shining silver cutlery, we ate while talking a bit of our high school. Mr. Woods was surprised when she wanted to do that "aahnn" feeding thing, but he stayed quiet.

After we ended, the housemaids cleared the table, and following Lisa's father's idea, I said I was a little sleepy.

So now I'm on Lisa's bedroom, and man... Pink. A lot.

There's a big bed in the middle of the room, with some stuffed animals on it. A great TV is in front of the bed, and it seems like I can watch from the bed. A small desk in one the corners, with some of her things on it... I could search for a dairy, but I can control my desires. A great shelf with many books is on the other side. Romance books, history, fantasy... Taking only a glimpse, that's the stuff that's not pink colored that I see.

Lisa is now taking a bath, there's a door that leads to this bedroom. She almost forgot the door open, so I closed. I took the opportunity to call uncle and say that I'm staying here today, and he told me okay. I think I heard Jenny saying something through the phone, but I couldn't understand. Well, now I'll wait Lisa ends her bath.

Oh! There she is. She's wearing a crimson nightgown and a robe while using a towel to dry her red hair. She gets close and sits by my side, on top of the bed.

—"Never thought that I was going to end in your house today." I say while giving a half-laugh.

—"And I never expected to father let you stay. What you said to him?" She asks with a curious face.

...

—"Ah, that I would deal with this situation. Tomorrow I'll speak to some people about it. So for today, we rest." I answer.

It's really hard to say these vague words to her. Still, it's better this way. She'll be really mad if hears about tomorrow's challenge.

—"Okay. And... You really wanna... rest?" She asks with a red face.

—"What do you mean?"

—"Y-y-you did with that girl, Right? So we..." I stop her midway, putting a finger on her lips.

—"You don't need to force yourself. Let's just sleep together."

I can't. I just can't. We have many things for tomorrow. If I do this, I'll feel like I'm taking advantage of the situation. When things calm down I think about it.

—"But... I'm your girlfriend now, right?" She says with a red face, almost as if wanting to hide her face, but she has a smile stamped on her face.

That's... complicated. I can't say things half-assed. In the hotel, what I said and done was just to made her hear me. But now that things got less troublesome, I have to measure my words. It's not that I don't want it. It's actually the opposite. But looking in her blue eyes sounds like a crime do this. So for now, I'll have to say something different.

—"Not yet. When everything ends, I'll ask you if we can date. So think about the answer, okay?"

Her face gets redder, and she averts her eyes.

—"Are you some kind of womanizer? These words are really sly, you know?" She says to me.

...Sorry, Lisa, I must focus for now.

So we go to the bed, and I keep thinking, looking at the ceiling while she sleeps peacefully by my side and hugging me as if I was a stuffed toy.

Clinging to my shoulder, she's grinning from ear to ear. She's really that happy? This entire thing is confuse. I don't feel like I'm the person that can be all that her behavior suggests I am.

Maybe I'm some kind of security blanket? Now that I think about it, she got really emotional when I disappointed her... And she has been wanting to stay close at all costs... Am I that important to her?

Looking at her face, I see nothing but a beautiful girl sleeping. Her silky red hair is covering the neck, and I can see the soft skin in her cheeks.

Those questions stayed in my mind until I slept.

I don't know what's gonna happen. But I don't wanna see her cry like earlier anymore. I want this type of face she has now. I don't wanna worry Dean and Alice again, making them look at me with that reproaching face. I want the faces I saw at school, smiling and laughing.

So tomorrow I'll start to take back what I want.