“Sir? How could you—my father trusted you and acknowledged your family status. How could you do this? He will find out what you have done, and will surely have you killed!”
The Suha family head grabbed his stomach and laughed heartily. “Why? I stayed at the banquet the whole time. Plus, do I look like someone who will get caught?”
“…No,” she fell into despair. “So… am I going to die?”
He shook his head, “It depends on the price of your life.”
“The price of my life…?”
“Diana, someone wants you dead,” the burly lizard’s facial expression changed, looking ruthless and calculating. “The price is worth the risk. Also, another thought hit me, shouldn’t the Juan family’s baby girl be worth more?”
She pondered for a few seconds with a pale face and asked in a fearful tone, “Are you asking your buyers to bid?”
“I will try to. Anyway, letting you live for a few more days will not hurt.”
“So who—wants me dead?”
“Candidates for the throne, their mothers, or stupid lizard demihumans who wish to please other candidates in an attempt to get their share of political power in the future? Do you really need to guess who they are?”
She closed her eyes and bit her dry lips. “There are certainly not many people who could have persuaded you.”
“Well, that means you have narrowed down your suspects. Good-bye,” the Suha head stood up approvingly.
“Wait… If money is all you want, you should speak to my parents.”
“What for?”
“Let them bid, too,” she raised her lips, hoping that this move would give her the courage she needed. “Since you were able to catch me alive and ask for bids, why not have an open bidding?”
He was stunned for a moment.
The lizard turned back, his tall body completely blocking the sunlight shining in the iron cage. His fierce-looking eyes were like a sharp knife piercing directly into her body. After a period of suffocating silence, he spoke.
“—What do you want for breakfast?”
The girl did not answer; the question came too abruptly for her to react.
“No answer? Then I will send someone to give you some meat. Now, I have to go to bed. After leaving the banquet, I had to rush the whole night to catch up with the convoy. Now, I am exhausted,” he scratched the back of his head and yawned, preparing to leave.
“Wait, you have not answered my question…”
“Actually, after leaving, I already did that.” The Suha family head waved his hand and spoke energetically. “Tomorrow, your father will receive a delicate blackmail from me. You are really smart, Diana, so smart that I am beginning to sympathize with you.”
She kneeled down and looked on the floor as if she had given up.
She made a split-second decision to visit the Haliph family head, and the Suha family head was able to react immediately. He must have planned to kidnap Diana right from the start. Not only did he react quickly, he did so boldly. She got chills down her back. The chances of her escaping from a careful person such as he were slim.
Nonetheless, despite the shocking experience, she was relieved to know that it had happened to her and not Diana.
That was okay. Carmelo would know what to do after receiving the blackmail. He would use this incident to gather more information, allowing Diana to hide until the throne war was over. No matter what decisions he made, the Juan family was still a viable candidate… This was great news.
Smart people do not want to be sacrificed for others.
She was not one of them; she was a fool who still wished to help the Juan family even when she was facing imminent death.
