"Would you two like to have dinner with us?"
Since Jessica was also here, Loren took the opportunity to invite her as well.
"May we? Thank you.
"Luna talks about you in every third sentence when she's speaking with , always ntioning your various strengths, so I've been wanting to et you for a while. Today, I finally have the chance..."
Jessica spoke with neither arrogance nor deference, which was quite rare. Most people Loren encountered, especially won, always seed to be trying to curry favor with him during conversations.
"I should also thank you for taking care of Luna."
Loren expressed his gratitude to Jessica. Back when Luna was being bullied by Sylvia and the others, Jessica was the only one who firmly stood by Luna's side, which also led to Jessica being targeted quite a bit.
However, her personality was a bit tougher. The sense of achievent from bullying her was far less than from bullying Luna, so Jessica didn't beco the primary target.
Everyone walked out of Luna's house and headed towards the restaurant Anna had chosen. Along the way, Jessica kept making small talk with Loren:
"How long will you be staying in the Royal Capital this ti?"
As she spoke, Jessica kept nudging Luna, pushing her right next to Loren. At the sa ti, her hand gripped Luna's arm, giving Luna no chance to escape.
"I'm not sure either. I ca here specifically to celebrate Luna's birthday. I probably won't stay too long."
Hearing this, Jessica frantically signaled Luna with her eyes. Luna had never felt she deserved such treatnt; she had even thought Loren was in the Royal Capital to handle so business and was just stopping by to wish her a happy birthday.
Now Jessica finally had proof. She wished she could grab Luna by the ear and make her listen.
Luna lowered her head, letting Jessica push her right next to Loren.
"By the way, what are your requirents for a partner? Given your status, if you want soone of equal standing, you'd probably have to marry an Angel, right? Can Angels even get married?"
Jessica was truly a bit of a social butterfly. Loren hadn't expected her to ask so many questions, but he could guess the purpose behind her inquiries—it was all for Luna's sake.
"Angels can get married. The Orthodox Gods don't restrict such things. It's just that Angels don't have much ti; being able to spare a mont to have a child is already quite an effort."
Faced with the question, Loren's professional habits kicked in. He started with a factual explanation, not directly answering Jessica's inquiry about his own romantic feelings.
After finishing, Loren noticed Naclis's mood seed a bit low. His words had just stirred up so sad mories for her.
Loren naturally took Naclis's hand and began to change the subject:
"Actually, I don't have many requirents for a partner. They just need to embody benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, loyalty, and filial piety..."
Loren repeated what he had previously told Laila. With each point he listed, Luna trembled slightly, terrified that she might fail to et one of them.
Only after Loren finished listing them all did Luna finally let out a sigh of relief. Checking her college entrance exam scores hadn't been this nerve-wracking.
"Your requirents for a partner are so low. I feel like I could et them too."
Jessica replied casually, imdiately drawing a death glare from Luna. Jessica didn't respond to the glare, just pointed at Loren and Naclis's joined hands, signaling for Luna to make her move.
Luna extended her hand a little, then abruptly pulled it back. In the end, Jessica couldn't stand it anymore. She grabbed Luna's wrist and placed her hand next to Loren's. Loren also naturally took hold of Luna's hand.
In an instant, Luna trembled all over as if she had been electrocuted.
"Why is your palm so sweaty?"
Loren suddenly asked. Luna, who was already prone to stamring, now couldn't utter a single word. In the end, Jessica answered for her:
"Probably because she's nervous. Luna is afraid she might not et your standards."
Jessica was very confident in Luna. She felt Luna was only missing the confession, so she directly helped Luna make a bold move.
"Luna has always t them."
As he spoke, Loren patted Luna's head. This seemingly affectionate gesture, however, left Jessica quite dissatisfied.
She felt there was still a huge gap between Loren and Luna. Loren still treated Luna like a child.
"Luna turns eighteen tomorrow. She'll be an adult, a grown-up. Many things she couldn't do before, she can do now."
Jessica continued to hint. She wanted Loren to realize Luna was no longer a child; she was an adult. She hoped Loren's attitude would change accordingly.
"Indeed, starting tomorrow you can drink alcohol. However, it's best not to drink too much. I, for one, never drink."
Loren responded. In truth, Loren understood Jessica's aning perfectly well; he was just deliberately changing the subject.
Loren felt that sort of thing should happen naturally, when Luna was ready. Besides, Luna currently didn't understand anything about it. At the very least, they'd have to wait for Anna to give her so lessons...
The mont this thought arose, Loren suddenly felt incredibly guilty. To think such matters would require Anna to give lessons...
For most of the journey, it was basically Jessica conversing with Loren. Luna remained silent from start to finish. Even after entering the restaurant, she just quietly sat beside Loren.
She didn't speak a word until the food was served. This made Jessica anxious. She gently nudged Luna with her elbow:
"Quick, offer so food to Anna. If you really want to secure your position, you can ignore others, but you definitely need to improve your favorability with Anna and Naclis. After all, they might be your children in the future..."
At this point, Jessica's tone suddenly wavered. She glanced at Naclis, who currently wore a cold expression, eating her food elegantly while occasionally sweeping her icy gaze over Luna and Jessica. Jessica could sense a hint of hostility.
Naclis appeared much more mature than them (except in physique), and her age was indeed greater than theirs. The idea of a stepdaughter being older than the stepmother... sounded quite thrilling...
However, Jessica felt gaining Naclis's support would be very difficult. They could only start with Anna first.
"Master ntor, how old are you now?"
Out of curiosity, Jessica asked. After all, Naclis was already twenty years old, and Loren, who raised her, didn't look much older than Naclis.
"This..."
Loren felt a bit awkward. He had forgotten how old he was before transmigrating. Adding the twelve years since arriving here would result in a very awkward number.
You could be twenty years old, or you could be two hundred years old, but not an age in between.
"I'm five hundred years old."
Loren casually made up an age. People would believe whatever he said anyway. Long ago, people had learned that Loren had thods to extend lifespan, so his claim was quite plausible.
Actually, Loren had a bit of a selfish motive for stating this age. He wasn't very comfortable with the idea of a relationship where the woman was older. He estimated Lilith to be over a hundred years old, so the age he revealed had to be older than Lilith's.
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