Chapter 17: Roaring Golden Lion (2)

Rosemary's mouth hung open, gasping in shock. The teacup in her hand rattled, sprinkling hot liquids on her fingers that made her reel back.

She knew that Ryker had fought Francis and his friends for her sake before, this was why she wanted to treat him to a meal. In fact, despite her complicated feelings, she still wanted to. She didn't want the premise of her paying Ryker back to be built upon the fact he might reciprocate her feelings, that would be manipulative, controlling and even a little disgusting. She had a strong revulsion toward having or projecting those qualities.

Francis wasn't even a threat to her. She was more powerful than he was and so was Sofia who had been there that day. Francis was just a useless fourth, fifth or even sixth in line heir, Rosemary couldn't bother to keep track. The only reason he could run around so rampantly was because he was a man.

That day, it had just been inconvenient for the two ladies to handle Francis and his advances. They had both been wearing dresses not conducive to battle, their Spirit Beasts were still Infants, and they still had to be cognisant of the relationship between the three wealthiest families of Smoke Tower City.

Thankfully, Ryker, a young man she had come to know as the sculptor who had set up shop near her grandfather's smithy for months already, had lent a helping hand.

If Ryker ended up in trouble because of something that was only a slight inconvenience to her, the guilt would eat Rosemary up inside. The only thing that helped her stay calm was the fact the search seemed to still be going on and no one had pinned Ryker as the culprit.

"We can't say anything!" Rosemary said once she put all the pieces together.

She didn't know how Ryker had managed to kill Francis before his two guards. Though Ryker showed great skill in martial arts that day, skill didn't translate to power in this world. But, none of that mattered. She just felt that she had to keep Ryker safe, after all it was her fault that he was in such a situation to begin with. Francis would have never bothered with a mere sculptor if it wasn't for her.

Sofia sighed, mistaking Rosemary's protective instinct as her feelings for Ryker showing through once again. It seemed that she had underestimated Rosemary's strength of heart. Since she was smiling again, she had already put those thoughts behind her. She didn't want to be like her mother, chasing after a man who had multiple women just for his status, money and power. It might have even been because Ryker didn't have any of these three qualities—or so she thought—that she had been drawn to him in the first place.

Now that she knew he had a fiancée, she had no intention of pursuing anything with him.

Sofia opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance to.

"Say anything about what?"

A deep, masculine voice came from the direction Rosemary mother's had been earlier. It didn't take the two girls long to see that this time it was her half-brother, coming into view with a smile on his face.

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Desmond Joseph was the eldest son of the Patriarch of the Joseph family and Rosemary's father. He was the first child between the latter and his first wife before she passed away and was already in his mid-thirties. Despite this, he looked like a man who had just stepped into his mid-twenties, and that was only because of his well trimmed beard. If not for this, his almost childish smile would have made him look like someone in his early twenties instead.

Desmond wore a velvet red robe that made it seem as though he had just stepped out from the shower or a sauna over formal wear. Setting aside the matter of his face and true age, even his outfit gave mixed signals, not helped by the fact he held a cigar in one hand and a green smoothie in the other. He couldn't seem to make up his mind about what he wanted to be. About the only thing that was straight forward about him was how his eyes lit up the instant he saw Sofia.

"Desmond! Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?"

"No, no, my adorable littlest sister. The wind simply carried your words to me."

"Pretend the wind didn't say anything."

Rosemary gave him a pointed look, using girl-talk as an absolute defense and skirting around her eldest brother's questioning without a hint of awkwardness. One would have never known that the two had just conspired to protect a murderer of three as they sipped tea and giggled under the sunlight.

Desmond pouted. "Fine, fine. I will not force my way between two sisters. They grow up so fast, suddenly wanting nothing to do with an old man like me."

Rosemary's hard demeanor cracked beneath her eldest brother's feigned hurt. A smile spread across her face as she watched his antics.

"Do you want to join us?" Rosemary asked, sneaking a glance toward Sofia.

Rosemary wasn't oblivious to it. She knew that her eldest brother had been chasing Sofia for a while now. A man of his status would tend to lean toward a talent like Sofia if they had a choice, and it could be said that her half brother was indeed such a man. Since he would inherit the Joseph family in the future, he need a woman that could match his status.

Sofia wasn't from a family that could match the Josephs like the Stewards or Buderwoerks, but she wasn't very far off either. Also, even if she was a peasant, it could mostly be covered for by her talent alone.

Whether Sofia wanted this or not was still questionable. She couldn't help but give Rosemary a slight eyeroll after seeing her best friend's mischievous tendencies shine through again. At the very least, she didn't hate Desmond, though he was a bit goofy and quirky, his reputation was good. It was just that she wanted to see more of the world before she decided on a husband.

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