Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Chapter 42: A Personal Favor, the Family’s Goodwill
“Mr. Alfred, if possible, could you let me meet your daughter?”
Ryan asked.
He was a little curious about Alfred’s daughter.
“Mmm...”
Alfred and Greta exchanged a glance, each seeing the hesitation in the other’s eyes.
They knew their own daughter well. She was extremely introverted and deeply afraid of meeting strangers.
But when they thought about how her condition had improved ever since Nila arrived,
they could not help wondering whether she might now be able to meet unfamiliar people.
If she met more strangers, would her withdrawn personality gradually improve?
“Uh... if it puts you in a difficult position, then forget it.”
Ryan saw Alfred’s hesitation and knew he had been somewhat abrupt.
“It’s fine. My daughter ought to meet more people.”
Alfred said this, and Greta nodded along with him.
“Mr. Ryan, and Lady Nika, please come with me.”
Ryan and Nika followed Alfred upstairs.
Before long, the four of them arrived outside the door to Alfred’s daughter’s room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“My dear, we have guests today. May we come in and see you?”
Creak—
The door opened.
The one who came out of the room was Nila.
After parting from her sister Nika, Nila had returned here.
“My lord, my lady, Sister, Mr. Ryan, you’re here.”
Nila greeted them with a smile.
“Nila, how is Isabella doing?”
Greta asked softly.
“My lady, the young lady is doing very well. I just told her about Mr. Ryan and my sister, and she also wants to meet the two of them.”
“Oh, Isabella wants to meet Ryan as well? That’s wonderful.”
Alfred said happily.
Then everyone entered the room.
The room was arranged very warmly.
Ryan saw Alfred’s daughter, Isabella.
She was standing by the bedroom window, wearing a light pink cotton nightdress that fell to her knees, with lace trim at the cuffs.
She was about 1.6 meters tall and rather slender, with narrow shoulders and a slim waist.
The most striking thing about her was her hair. It was a pure golden color, reaching all the way to her waist. The strands were soft and slightly uncombed, with a few loose locks hanging beside her cheeks.
Moonlight streamed through the window onto her hair, making it gleam brilliantly. When it shifted, it looked like flowing threads of gold.
Her skin was pale, almost translucent. Her neck was slender, and her collarbones stood out faintly.
Her eyes were light blue and softly rounded. At that moment, they were opened slightly wide, her pupils drawn tight.
Her brows were a pale gold, fine and delicate, drawn together a little in confusion.
Her nose was small and refined, the tip softly rounded. Her lips were thin and pale pink, parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something but could not bring herself to speak.
Her gaze swept quickly over Ryan and Nika, traveling from their clothes to their shoes. Her eyes did not linger on any face for even a second before she lowered her head and stared at the tips of her own feet. Her golden hair fell down, hiding half her face.
At that moment, Greta entered behind them.
When Isabella heard her mother’s voice, she immediately raised her head and quickly walked to Greta’s side. After stopping, she lightly caught hold of Greta’s sleeve with her right hand, her fingers curled as she leaned her head slightly toward her mother’s arm.
“Isabella, this is Father’s friend, Mr. Ryan. And this is Mr. Ryan’s companion, Lady Nika. Lady Nika is Nila’s elder sister.”
Alfred said softly.
“Hello, Isabella.” x2
Ryan and Nika both greeted her.
“Mmm... h-hello.”
Isabella’s voice was so soft it was barely audible.
As Ryan looked at the timid Isabella, he could not help feeling a trace of sympathy.
With looks like hers, if she had lived on Blue Star in his previous life, she would definitely have been considered a top-class beauty.
Not to mention becoming a celebrity, even if she had only done ordinary livestreams, there would have been no shortage of lustful men eagerly supporting her.
Blonde hair and blue eyes—she would have been the dream lover of countless people.
And yet the Isabella before him was so painfully withdrawn.
Ryan had heard that she might even be suffering from mild depression.
And all of it was because her magic talent was only D-rank.
For ordinary commoners, D-rank magic talent was more than sufficient.
But for a great family like the Jurgens,
having only D-rank magic talent was little different from being useless.
What was more, Isabella was the lord’s daughter, the very core of the direct bloodline.
Under those circumstances, whether it was the collateral branch younger members of the Jurgen Family or members of other great families on the same level as the Jurgens, all of them looked down on Isabella.
As time passed, she naturally became more and more introverted.
If Ryan had not possessed the System, then as an ordinary person with no magic talent, he probably would already have become some nameless laborer toiling away who knew where.
The gap between a Mage and an ordinary person was enormous.
If a Mage or an ordinary person lost in a conflict, at worst they would only be beaten up.
But if you lost in the internal struggles of a great family like the Jurgens, the lightest outcome was being sold off as a slave and having the rest of your life ruined. The worst outcome was dying on the spot. It was cruel beyond measure.
That was why Alfred had been so emotional when he saw signs of Isabella improving.
Great families had rules by which great families operated.
Even though Alfred was the head of the family and could give Isabella special treatment,
he still could not openly damage the family’s interests.
Otherwise, the family itself would splinter because of him.
Ryan looked at Isabella thoughtfully.
Poor magic talent?
He wondered whether Isabella might have talent with guns.
As long as there were firearms, perhaps lacking magic talent would not be such a problem after all.
Of course, Ryan merely thought this to himself. He had no intention of giving Isabella a gun.
The reason was simple: at heart, Ryan was still selfish.
Isabella had no real connection to him.
At most, she was the daughter of a business partner.
He would not look down on her, mock her, or anything of the sort. He would simply treat her as he would anyone else.
Meanwhile, standing beside her mother Greta, Isabella was secretly observing Ryan and Nika.
As for Nika, she already knew she was the elder sister of her new maid, Nila.
At first glance, she had even mistaken her for Nila. The two sisters really did look alike.
Then her gaze settled on Ryan.
This was the first man she had seen outside her family in a year, ever since shutting herself away in her room.
Compared with those hateful people who had mocked her in the past,
she found not the slightest trace of ridicule in Ryan’s eyes.
What she saw there instead was a fleeting hint of pity and faint confusion.
That made her a little curious about him.
Alfred and Greta carefully watched Isabella’s expression.
They discovered that she showed no impatience whatsoever toward Ryan and Nika, and inwardly they were delighted.
Sure enough.
It would definitely do Isabella good to meet people of her own age more often.
Look at this—her reaction already seemed fairly positive.
The couple exchanged a glance and could both see the joy in each other’s eyes.
“Isabella, would you like to go out for a walk tomorrow?”
Greta asked tentatively.
“A walk?”
Tilting her head, Isabella murmured softly.
“Yes. Look, Ryan and Nika have just arrived at our castle. As members of the Jurgen Family, we naturally ought to show proper hospitality to our guests.”
Alfred said.
“Mmm...”
After thinking for a while, Isabella slowly nodded.
“All right. I would like to go out for a walk too.”
“That’s wonderful...”
Greta was overjoyed.
If the occasion had not been inappropriate, she might have burst into tears on the spot.
Alfred looked deeply moved as well.
But he was the head of the family, and his self-control was exceptional, so he restrained himself.
Only the slight trembling of his hands revealed how turbulent his emotions truly were.
Alfred looked toward Ryan and gave him a meaningful glance.
Ryan understood. He let Nika stay behind to keep Isabella company, while he followed Alfred out of Isabella’s room alone.
The two of them came to the window along the corridor.
Looking out into the night beyond the open window, Alfred said softly, “Ever since Isabella shut herself away in her room nearly a year ago, this is the first time she has agreed to come out for a walk. Ryan, this is all thanks to you.”
“Mr. Alfred, Lady Isabella’s improvement is entirely due to the care and devotion you and your wife have shown her. It has very little to do with me. I would not dare claim the credit.”
Ryan shook his head.
He was telling the truth.
From that brief meeting just now, Ryan had already seen how dearly Alfred and Greta cherished Isabella.
Alfred smiled and said, “Ryan, you are too modest. Today, you not only brought enormous profit to the Jurgen Family, you also helped my daughter walk out of her room.”
“In that case, let me owe you a personal favor. Not from the Jurgen Family, but from me—Alfred Jurgen.”
Alfred looked Ryan straight in the eyes and spoke with complete solemnity.
“All right. Then thank you, Mr. Alfred.”
Ryan knew Alfred was serious, so he did not refuse.
A personal favor from the head of a great family was worth far more than ordinary things.
Ryan had no idea whether he would ever need to use that favor in the future.
Still, since Alfred insisted on giving it, Ryan could hardly decline.
Who knew whether he might need it one day?
“Besides my personal favor, your decision to cooperate with the Jurgen Family in selling perfume is the Jurgen Family taking advantage of you. You may make one request. As long as it does not harm the family’s interests, any request can be granted.”
Alfred continued.
Ryan understood what Alfred meant.
The favor just now was a personal debt Alfred owed as a father for the sake of his daughter.
But this one was different. This was Alfred, as head of the Jurgen Family, owing him on behalf of the family itself.
No family would ever refuse such an excellent product as perfume.
In this cooperation, Ryan held the initiative.
His choice to work with the Jurgen Family truly was a benefit to them.
So Alfred wanted to show goodwill on behalf of the family.
Ryan fell silent in thought for a moment, then lifted his head and looked at Alfred.
“In that case, help me find a martial arts instructor.”