Coiling Dragon Book 6 (Chp 8 onwards)

Book 6, The Road to Revenge - Chapter 16, Limits

As he closed the door to the study, Merritt heard Alice's words. He couldn't help but turn to Alice with a smile. "Miss Alice, we're going to discuss the affairs of the Debs clan. We can't discuss those openly and publicly, can we? If his Majesty were to find out, then I would be in serious trouble. You should know that I'm taking on serious risks on behalf of your Debs clan. Best we leave the door closed."

Alice was stunned.

In terms of wordplay, how could Alice match this Lord Merritt, who had engaged in the highest levels of court intrigue for so long?

Smiling, Merritt walked past her. In front of the bookshelf, there were two chairs around a round table. Merritt would often chat with some of his friends here.

Merritt first sat down, then looked at Alice. "Alice, you should sit."

"Thank you, Lord Merritt." Alice secretly let out a sigh of relief, then sat down on the opposite chair. The thing which made Alice the most nervous in this study was that bed.

"Please wait a moment."

Smiling, Merritt rose to his feet, then pulled out a bottle of red wine and two wine cups. He poured himself and Alice a cup of wine each.

"Alice, this is the Bluerain red wine from the Yulan Empire, a sixty-year old vintage. The flavor isn't bad. Have a taste." Merritt smiled as he raised his glass to her.

Alice was somewhat afraid that some sort of knockout drug had been mixed into the wine. But, under Merritt's gaze, Alice was forced to raise her own glass as well. Only, she just barely touched the wine with her lips.

Merritt didn't force her. Changing the topic, he said, "Alice, you and Kalan have already become engaged. I expect you know quite a bit about the affairs of the Debs clan. Did you know they were engaged in smuggling?"

"No, I didn't. I think Kalan wouldn't engage in smuggling." Alice hurriedly said. "Lord Merritt, the Debs clan is quite powerful. I think they wouldn't engage in this smuggling business."

With a smile that wasn't a smile, Merritt looked at Alice. "Hard to say."

"Ah!"

Merritt seemed to have seen something, and all of a sudden, he moved next to Alice, so close that his face was mere centimeters away from Alice's face.

Startled, Alice hurriedly retreated.

"Don't move." Merritt's shouted carried a hint of a command.

Born from long years of being accustomed to power, Merritt's commanding voice froze Alice in her tracks, as ill at ease as she was. Merritt carefully inspected Alice's hair, then looked down at Alice.

Upon lowering his head, his face was now only a few centimeters away from Alice's. This made Alice hurriedly bend her head away from him.

Seeing this, Merritt laughed, then returned to his original seat. He let out a helpless sigh. "Just then, I saw a single white hair on your head, but after you moved, I couldn't see it anymore."

A strand of white hair?

In her heart, Alice began to grow irritated. She lived together with Rowling now, and every morning, when they were bored, they would comb each other's hair. Often, she would find some white hairs on Rowling's head. But Rowling often expressed envy towards Alice, as she could never find white hair on Alice's head.

Rowling couldn't find any white hair despite combing Alice's hair every day. How could Merritt have found any?

But Alice didn't dare to say this.