The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 282: Picnic

“Young master... Where are we going now?” Mira asked nervously after she noticed that Victor was driving her out of the city to a suburban area.

“Just searching for a place to talk peacefully,” he said as he drove slowly until they reached a small grove on the side of the road where he pulled to the side.

“Let’s go down here! Wait a moment….” he said as he stepped down in a hurry, then ran to the other side and opened the door to Mira, holding her hand as she stepped down as a servant.

Mira blushed as she took his hand while wondering why he was acting like this. Little did she know that this was the place where he planned to propose to her in his previous life… It was on the same day when Rex learned about Victor’s relationship with her and took her away as Victor was setting it up! This left a deep scar in Victor's heart, and it never truly healed... Rex would pay, but it was too early for this.

In his previous life, after the ceremony, Victor was sent to the company by his father to work part-time and earn his living expenses. He was supposed to work his way up from a small clerk to a CEO, not only to gain life experience but also to investigate the corruption in the company.

He was good at it. Not only did he find out many disturbing things about the media industry, but he was also able to uncover a human trafficking ring that used the company as a facilitator, and the one behind it was Titus!

At that time and by chance he saved the life of Mira who was about to be attacked by one of the company's idiot directors, and that’s how they became good friends.

It only took them a few months after that to become a couple after that, despite the fact of him being just a minor assistant... They were very compatible with each other, as they both liked the same things to some extent and they both longed for freedom.

Unfortunately, this relationship was a disaster for Mira who ended up in Rex’s hands before Victor was allowed to reveal his real identity to her... He was not even aware that she was a family servant until it was too late, or he would have asked his father for help!

“This way my lady…” Victor said as he slowly held her hand, guiding her up a small grassy hill.

Mira had no idea why he was treating her like this, but it didn’t feel bad, so she decided to play along with a blush.

Reaching the top of the hill, Mira realized that this hill overlooked the entirety of Vein city, the view was mesmerizing. She could see everything from here clearly. When she looked back to Victor, she realized that he was busy setting up a mat on the grass, he even brought a basket… was he setting up a picnic? Was this a date? She wondered in shock how Victor knew that she liked picnics.

“Please have a seat, my lady!” Victor said with an amused tune.

Mira blushed as she nodded and then sat down. Victor quickly gave her a napkin, some juice, and a sandwich then sat beside her, stretching his legs.

There was an awkward silence after that… Mira slowly looked at Victor’s face beside her. He was looking at the city below them with clear eyes. He looked really dashing… How can a man be this handsome? Even after becoming a player, and knowing about the charm attribute, she still believed that Victor was better than any man she had known.

Maybe falling in his hands was not a band thing after all... she blushed at that thought.

Mira hesitated for a few moments then decided not to speak and just relax and enjoy the view with him. Strangely enough, she quickly realized that she liked being near him, he gave her a strange sense of peace… and this sandwich was %100 to her liking. Did he know that she liked strawberry jam?

They stayed sitting like this for about 10 minutes, and that’s when Victor spoke.

“Did you get familiar with the usage of your skills?” he asked. After she became a player in the snake's dungeon, he didn’t have an opportunity to speak with her alone.

“Um…” she nodded. At first, she was shocked when she became a player, but now after she read the data Victor sent her, she realized how big the world was. She couldn’t believe that such a secret as the existence of players was kept a secret for thousands of years.

Thankfully, her class as an illusionist was a perfect fit for her media career, so she was able to secretly use some skills during filming to enhance her performance!

“Good! You will be able to be a great help in the future!” he said as his hand slowly crawled on her back as he hugged her closer to him, making her blush heavily.

“Do you dislike me?” he asked suddenly. "I forced myself into you after all..."

“...No…” she said in a barely audible voice. She hated him a little at first, but after he explained his intentions to her and let her be free, she no longer held such feelings. On the contrary...

“Then you like me then?” he interrupted her thoughts.

She blushed heavily as she looked down…. At first, when she met him and he declared that she would be his, she thought that he was another one of those bullies' young masters and that her life was over. But after she spent some time with him then went dungeon diving in the dungeon and stayed with him and the girls for a few days she realized how nice he was.

Love was a different thing though... She had no choice in that. She was officially his servant after all. If he told her to love him, she would have no choice but to try her best to do that!

But if they were not a master and servant, she would have probably fallen for him, he was perfectly her type after all…. She was never going to tell him that though. Little did she know that Victor knew all of this.

“I will take that as a yes…” Victor said softly as he watched her blush. “You heard that I will marry in a week right?” he asked.

“Um…” she nodded while pouting a little, she knew that she couldn't dream of such a wedding, her father had already explained her position in the family to her... She would be lucky if Victor took her for a nice dinner before he decided to 'marry' her.

“I decided that I will not only take two wives… I will take eight, and you will be one of them!” he said.

“Um….” she nodded then paused and slowly looked up, locking her clear eyes with his… What did he just say?

“In a week… Would you marry me?” he asked softly.

“Ahh…. but …. But… I am just a servant…” she shattered. She knew the rules better than anyone, her father made sure of that... The family would not like an elite heir marrying a lowly servant like her publicly! She was told stories about such incidents before, It didn't end well for most of the poor girls!

“Don’t worry about such formalities. I plan to trick the family and make a grand wedding… This might be our only chance to get a formal wedding!” he lied as he held her hand, “If you hate me I would understand that…”

“NO… “ she shook her head. "But...."

“You don’t want to marry me?” he asked with a hurt voice, that made her heart skip a beat.

“Ah…I didn’t mean that… I meant that I don’t hate you….” she fumbled as she corrected him with a blush.

“Then will you marry me?” he asked, looking softly at her.

"But..."

"YES OR NO!" he looked her in the eyes.

“Yes….” she said in a very soft voice as she looked down again, not daring to look at him anymore and not realizing that he was carefully pushing her right buttons.

“I didn’t hear that… You refuse….I can understand…” he began to speak with a hurt tone.

“I SAID YES!” she yelled with a blush as she looked up at him, but before she could realize what happened she felt something soft touch her lips, it was Victor softly kissing her.

She wanted to back off, but his hand which was gently holding her head, stopped her.

Moments later she stopped resisting, deciding to surrender to her fate.

Then something strange happened. She didn’t know why, but the more she felt his lips, the more strange she felt, like a thirsty man finding water... She began to want to taste it more.

Moments later, she completely lost control of herself as she hugged him back for the first time, forcefully pushing her lips into his, forgetting everything else!

The kissing session ended 14 minutes later when Mira fell to the ground painting with swollen lips. She was barely able to keep up with him!

She bashfully sneaked a look at Victor then looked away with a blush. He slowly laid to her side, watching her as she caught her breath and making her feel very embraced. She wanted to rebuke him not to look, but she didn’t dare to, she could only keep looking away, but suddenly she felt his soft hand caress her head, forcing her to look back at him as he slowly began to brush her fair hair with his fingers.

“Ah…Sorry... I…” she didn’t know why she felt the need to explain herself… That kiss earlier was amazing, and she might have crossed some lines. She couldn’t believe she kissed him back like that!

“I really love you, you know…” he said softly as if he didn’t notice what she was thinking, “I did from the first moment I saw you…” he added, making her blush heavily as she tried hard to look away but couldn't because he started pinching her puffed cheek.

“We didn’t know each other for that long… “ she said with some embarrassment as she slowly controlled herself… It is not that she didn’t like him, but love was a totally different thing, it needed time.

“I always knew everything about you…I had a poster of you in my room on the family island!” he told her, leaving her speechless. He was telling the truth. He has liked her ever since she became a star after watching one of her movies that his father brought home once to review... She was younger back then, but so was he.

“Ahh… you can’t know me from a poster….” she complained.

“...We will have time to get to know each other more in the future…” he added as he twirled her hair in his finger.

“Um…”

“I already gave you a ring, so this time I will give you something else…” he said as he sat up and an obsidian pendant appeared in his hand. “This is called the Pendant of Dawn… It is an S-ranked artifact!” he said, making her open her eyes wide in shock as she also sat up in a hurry.

“From now on this would be yours, this thing is a defensive artifact, it would protect you even if a nuclear bomb detonated next to you… “ he said as he slowly put it on her neck. This one he got from the vault, from his ancestor’s stash.

“But…”

“Do you refuse my gift?” he asked, interrupting her.

“No… But I think it is very expensive…” She read online how much an S artifact could cost… No money could buy such a thing.

“That’s why you can’t tell anyone about it!” he said, “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you…” he said, “...ever again!” he added silently.

“Um…” she nodded with a sense of warmth in her heart.

“Now, let’s continue!” he said with an evil smirk that made her heart skip a beat before she felt his lips again… It was a very long day, and Victor planned to teach this beginner girl a lot of new kissing techniques!

…

It was 9.00 PM when a tired Victor returned to the mansion, he smirked as he reached the door, remembering how flustered was Mira when he drove her to her apartment. She seemed to have been planning to invite him up, but she didn't dare to voice it. He just kissed her again and then slapped her butt. It was not time for that.

After that, he went shopping for some different things on the black market... Some merchants only work at night.

It took him a while to finish his preparation and return here.

“Young master, you are late!” Lily was the first one to welcome him as she hugged him then buried her head in his chest… then frowned. She recognized the smell! MIRA! And the smell was too strong! what the hell did they do?

Victory casually patted the pouting girl's hair as he dragged her into the lavish living room where the girls were having a conversation. Margret seemed to have finished her shopping and was showing the girls some new accessories that she got… They were normal accessories, the naughty ones were hidden and reserved for the wedding night! Maybe Alex would get to 'see' them before that though.

Victor casually threw himself onto a couch, then let Lily make herself comfortable on his lap… This girl had stopped being shy at some point.

“Young master…” the one who spoke was Hilda, “The girls want to go tomorrow to shop for matching wedding dresses… Is it ok for me to take the day off and accompany them?” she asked.

“Oh, that reminds me… I wanted to talk to you about that! You will have to wear traditional bridal dresses, not normal ones!” He said, “Tomorrow, go choose the materials and let the seamstress take your measurements at the White Mall… Aria should have already contacted the designer. Mira and Lin will meet you there!” he said after noticing that Aria didn’t return home yet.

Margret shot him a nasty glare, then took out her phone to cancel the wedding dress she ordered in the afternoon… After some thought, she put her phone away. Why should she cancel it? Victor is the one paying the bill anyway! She can always use it later for...

“Miss Mira too?” Hilda suddenly asked after a moment as the girls looked at Victor, especially Beta and her sisters who were feeling somehow jealous, especially Theta. But they understood that they had to stay hidden.

“Yes! It is a mass wedding after all!” Victor said.

“Young master, can we have the exact list of the… brides?” Hilda asked.

“Lin and Nova are a given… then there are Mina, Mana, Monica, Margret, Mira, and Aria,” he said casually… too casually. Hiding two of the planned brides.

“What?” Hilda asked, she didn’t expect that much…Even Margret was in? Mistress Elena would not like this at all! ”Would the family accept this?” she asked.

“I plan to tell them on the wedding day. I will be performing a ceremonial wedding, not a traditional one!” he said. “Aria is already arranging that!”

“I see… Then what about Miss Lily?” Hilda inquired. As far as she can tell, Lily was Victor’s favorite so she felt strange that he didn’t mention her name, and Lily didn’t seem to be annoyed at all. What’s going on here?

“Well…. Keep this a secret, but I suspect that Nova will not come, so she might have to take her place at the last moment… I will tell you, girls, the specifics on the wedding day,“ Victor said then looked at Lily, “Go shop with them, but be careful not to reveal a thing….” he said winking at her.

Lily nodded with a slight blush, feeling excited about her young master’s plan. She has long understood how delicate her situation was.

“I understand…” Hilda said as she understood Victor's plan to make Lily a main wife.

On the other hand, the girls frowned a little, especially Margret who understood everything usually and was feeling that something does not add up, but she couldn’t put her finger on it... What was he planning?

“Now, when you go out tomorrow, let Alex drive you and carry your luggage!” Victor suddenly said, glancing at poor Alex who was sitting to the side with a complex look in her eyes, feeling a little left out. “And buy three additional dresses as spares… there might be some trouble at the wedding. Make sure that one of them is extra large, and one should fit Alex!” he added mysteriously.

“Ah… Understood?” Hilda said with a questioning look as Alex opened her mouth in shock.

“Me too?” Alex asked.

“Don’t worry, I will not marry you, but I might need your help to act as a decoy!” Victor said disappointing her.

“I know!” Alex said, looking away… Why was she feeling disappointed? No one knew.

“Where is Lara?” Victor suddenly said changing the subject as he looked around.

“She is in her room with El and Yin, they are planning for her sleepover in two days,” Hilda explained.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that… Make sure to cook something good for the brats, I want them to be shocked enough to realize their place in front of Lara!” he said, “What about Hana?”

“She has been in the basement lab since this morning!” Hilda said.

“I see…” Victor said as he slowly stood up carrying Lily who was hanging on him then putting her to the ground. “I will go take a look at Hana’s progress, make sure to tell me when dinner is served!” he said as he dragged Lily downstairs.