Although he wasn’t clear on the reason for her outburst, looking at the girl whose affection had spiraled out of control before him, Lauren naturally knew how to comfort her.
This wasn’t a time for clever quips, only for the most sincere expression of feelings.
Lauren held Anne and slowly sat down, replying simply:
“I like you too, Anne.”
“No more crying. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’ll stay with you, always, never leaving or abandoning you…”
“So please, don’t cry anymore. You won’t be beautiful if you keep crying, and I don’t want to see you like this…”
Finally, after his continuous coaxing and comforting, the cat-girl in his arms gradually stopped her crying and repeating.
She lifted her head, her red-rimmed eyes meeting Lauren’s gaze.
“Boss, can you promise me one thing, meow?”
Lauren didn’t agree immediately, asking first.
“What is it?”
“Stop caring about everything else and run away with me, meow! I’m strong enough now to hold up the sky for you, boss, meow!”
What did she mean, elope?
“Impossible. I refuse!”
Lauren rejected it outright without a second thought.
This choice was neither realistic nor actually feasible.
Was she joking?
Give up everything and just run away?
Abandon the family estate?
Ignore the plot?
Stop leveling up?
He had finally gotten a chance to transmigrate, and even had a system.
If he didn’t strive for a better future, wouldn’t this transmigration be for nothing?
Even if they really ran, where could they go?
The entire world was the stage for the game’s plot.
Under the established fate, everyone without exception would be drawn into its vortex.
There was no true “ends of the earth” in this world.
Lauren knew the only thing he could do was strive to become stronger and then break the deadlock of fate.
“So it really is impossible…”
Hearing Lauren’s reply, a flicker of dejection passed through Anne’s eyes, but she quickly adjusted her mindset.
Anne wasn’t really surprised by Lauren’s answer.
After all, this was the boss’s character.
Although he was incredibly weak and always relied on her protection, he was always so positive, never giving up easily when faced with difficulties, his will as tenacious as wild grass that couldn’t be eradicated.
Even when he encountered setbacks, he would rally his spirits, calmly do what he needed to do, and never stop moving forward until he reached his goal.
The person she had fallen in love with was exactly this kind of man!
Even though the journey would always be dangerous, it didn’t matter.
A flash of determination crossed Anne’s eyes, and her fists unconsciously clenched.
“This time, I won’t leave your side for even a step. Even if it’s your own choice, boss, I won’t let you act recklessly anymore!”
Anne faced him, wrapping her arms around Lauren.
Her red lips parted slightly as she blew warm breath into his ear, whispering softly:
“Boss, from now on, when you encounter difficult things, please don’t try to tough it out on your own anymore. Please rely on me more!”
Lauren was momentarily at a loss for words, only replying faintly with one word.
“Okay.”
What he didn’t know was what kind of massive pit today’s casual words would dig for his future self.
Anne’s mood, however, shifted quickly.
She wanted to fully enjoy being with Lauren, this hard-won beautiful time, not wanting to let go of a single minute or second.
She giggled playfully at Lauren.
“Boss, why is your face red?”
Her lovely face was exceptionally beautiful under the sunlight.
Anne tilted her head to look at him, her cat ears twitching lightly, her tail swaying leisurely behind her.
Her lips were slightly swollen and red, still glistening with moisture, her eyes filled with a sense of not having had enough.
“Did I kiss too hard, meow? Or were my words too corny, and boss was moved?”
“You know your words were corny?”
Lauren’s voice was a bit hoarse.
“It was like you were trying to devour me.”
Anne blinked, revealing an innocent, guileless smile.
“Then next time, meow, I’ll be gentler.”
Lauren: “There’s a next time?”
Damn, why didn’t you say so earlier!
Please, more!
You have to understand, Lauren had abundant theoretical knowledge about love in his previous life, but zero practical experience.
Anne’s excessive actions had genuinely stirred something in his heart.
He really wanted to deal with her right then and there, but wouldn’t that be too…
Base?
Lauren didn’t want to be led by his ‘little head.’
His ‘big head’ ultimately took the upper hand.
He took a deep breath, trying to get his heartbeat back to a normal rhythm.
Lauren’s mind keenly sensed something was off, but he found it hard to extricate himself from this sweet atmosphere, feeling like his brain was a bit overloaded from Anne’s teasing.
However, looking at the now-calm Anne, Lauren sighed.
He finally had time to break away and consider the personal side quest the system had issued.
He turned to look at the utterly wrecked study—the large hole smashed in the wall by brute force, the dismantled desk discarded outside the mansion, the papers and breakfast scattered all over the floor.
He couldn’t keep a straight face anymore and instructed:
“Anne, clean up this study!”
“Oh, and after you’ve tidied up, remember to come down to the garden later. I have something to tell you!”
“Okay, boss!”
Anne had no objection to this.
After all, she was the one who caused the destruction, and taking care of the mansion was part of a maid’s duties anyway.
But this hole is a problem, meow?
Anne couldn’t help but feel troubled.
I don’t know how to do masonry work, meow!
On the other side, Lauren had already gone downstairs with light steps.
He hurried to a pavilion in the sunflower field on the other side of the ducal mansion, looked around to make sure Anne wouldn’t suddenly leap out from the bushes and hiss fiercely at him.
“Finally… finally escaped!”
He had genuinely been frightened by Anne’s sudden actions.
He was really afraid she might suddenly erupt and kill him, ending his hard-won second life in a ridiculously fast half-day.
That would truly be a disgrace for a transmigrator.
The warm sunlight shone on him, and Lauren finally felt a bit more at ease.
“It seems the life of a villain isn’t as easy as I imagined!”
He took a deep breath, calming his agitated heart.
Then, he took out from his pocket a small bell with strange patterns.
This was the membership token for the classic villain organization [The Olden Days Society] from the game.
The organization was composed of ancient demon races, numerous underground cults, and secret societies.
Its legendary leader was the [Demon King], conspiring to overthrow the rule of various nations and the church.
That was the official definition.
Players were more accustomed to using the nicknames they came up with: [The Losers’ Alliance], or [The Usurpers].
In reality, they were just a pack of defeated dogs who lost the last struggle for worldly power, only capable of scheming in the shadows.
But, Lauren was also a member.
In the official setting, the original Lauren was incompetent due to low talent, secretly mocked by others, which twisted his psyche, and his actions gradually became notorious.
After his parents died, his flawed personality went uncorrected.
He then actively joined [The Olden Days Society], intending to seek power by learning black magic to prove himself.
Unfortunately, the original’s talent was truly too poor.
Even after learning black magic, which was said to have no threshold, he was still a nobody.
But fortunately, the master’s status was elevated by the servant.
Because he had a demi-human maid under his command with explosive combat power, comparable to the Demon King’s direct Four Great Apostles, he gained the [Demon King]‘s favor and was given the position of the Fifth Apostle, the “Evil Duke” (outsourced).
However, anyone with eyes could see Lauren’s lowly, inferior situation as a nobody.
Although he appeared in every plotline, he was always placed in the position that received the most beatings.
This also led players to jokingly call him:
“Lauren the Prisoner.”
Lauren took out this token now, naturally with his own plans.
He shook it twice in the air.
An invisible wave of energy was transmitted through a hidden fluctuation.
Lauren then spoke softly:
“Contractor Lauren Scotmart, hereby summons!”
“Night Demon Catalia, appear before me at once!”