Maria stood there as Dorian’s heinous face hovered closer to her position.
His fingers were stuck to the wall so that it felt like he could crush it if he were to add a bit more pressure to his grip.
All in all, Maria soon had no option but to sigh to avoid Dorian’s intense gaze.
"Of course not, I was just trying to catch my breath."
Dorian folded his arms. "Better, because we are heading out now, and I can’t promise it’s going to be smooth sailing."
"Where are we heading to?" Maria turned her gaze towards him.
"A mining ground, or a soon-to-be mining ground if you will. I don’t know how many resources it has, so we are going to check it out."
"Mining ground?"
"Well, yeah, what else do you call a field with life-changing money? Come on, let’s—."
Dorian suddenly paused.
His eyes scanned Maria’s body from head to toe, quickly taking notice of the white gown she had on.
"Why are you dressed in that?" he pointed.
"My dress?" Maria narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, I get that, but why are you wearing it? You look nothing like a knight in that; you’re better off wearing a net on your head to pull off the granny look."
"Sorry, I don’t have a list of clothes I can swim in." Maria gave out a sarcastic tone.
Something that quickly flew over Dorian’s head.
Pa!
Dorian clapped, "Sebastian!!!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Sebastian answered, sprinting towards his calling all the way from the garden.
As soon as he was in the mansion, he ran up the stairs and appeared right next to Dorian.
He was dressed in a butler outfit, his red hair swept to the back, highlighting his flawless jawline. He was the single and only worker the Aurelian household was able to afford.
"My lord, you called?"
Then, without saying a word, Dorian pointed at Maria.
This prompted Sebastian to also look at the young maiden. He proceeded to close his eyes and lower his head in respect as he responded.
"I understand; I will take care of it."
Without further ado, Sebastian walked towards Maria, grabbed her by the arm, and covered her mouth before eventually dragging her away. Though she tried to fight her way out, confused about the situation she had found herself in. Still, she had no way to overpower the butler.
Moments later, Dorian was seated on the couch in the living room, a single paper in his hand, while his eyes were running through every word written inside.
With his legs crossed, he uttered in his mind,
’Yosh, this should be good enough. I already stole Father’s stamp, so any contract I write is automatically valid by the law. With that said, am I sure people will want to work for me? Even with the angel of the barony with me?’
He looked to the side.
’I mean, I could tell them what the mining ground has, but even I am not sure if it has that much. Then again...’
[Resource Gathering.]
[Tier I: You can track resources needed when you have a clear image and understanding of what that is.]
’When I was at the field, the skill hinted at three other iron ores hidden in the ground. What if that is all? If it’s iron ore, then that can’t be all right? The ground made itself a natural resource. Yo, System, what do I need to do to upgrade my skills?’
[Upgrading of skills requires the use of E-points; the higher the tier, the more points are needed to upgrade.]
’How many points do I need to upgrade my resource gathering skills?’
[1 E-point.]
"Are you serious?"
Dorian jerked his back up from the chair.
’It’s that cheap?’
He paused.
Back in his former world, there were companies he remembered that offered similar cheap deals only to increase the other benefits later on. The chances of the system doing the same were pretty high.
Then again, does it matter?
’Upgrade the skill Resource Gathering.’
[Upgrade in process.]
[1 point has been deducted.]
[The skill Resource Gathering has been upgraded to Tier II.]
[Tier II: Added skills (Range and limit of resources has been increased to 1500 yards; limit: unlimited.) (Image visuals.)]
’Bingo, now this is what I am talking about. I can see wherever skill explores. Talk about luck.’
A smile hugged Dorian’s face.
Just as quickly, he heard footsteps heading towards his location.
Turning his head to check who that was, he was left in awe of Maria’s presence.
She was standing there in an all-black ensemble with a white fur collar. She looked even more remarkable in the black gloves she wore, and the black belt around her waist accentuated her figure.
To put it briefly, she was so captivating that anyone could stare at her for hours on end.
Gripping her arm, Maria looked to the side, her cheeks red. "W-Why do you want me to wear this?"
Dorian stood up from the chair after rolling the paper in his hand. Then he walked towards her, placing his hand on her shoulder once he was close.
And with a melted gaze, he spoke:
"Shush, you’re welcome; now let’s go use your beauty for my benefit."
As soon as he said those words, he walked away.
Meanwhile, Maria remained there, her cheeks still red with her eyes closed, obviously trying to calm herself down.
It took a while for her to catch herself, but just when she was about to move, she caught a glimpse of a black-haired girl walking down the hall, her gaze fixed on Maria until she was gone.
Maria felt a shiver go down her spine during the brief time she had to look into the girl’s eyes.
Although she wasn’t positive, it appeared to be Dorian’s sister, whom she had only ever seen once in her life.
Shaking her head, Maria came to the conclusion that she was only imagining it and immediately set out to join Dorian outside.
Truly, it turned out Maria was right.
Dorian’s sister, Yelena, was an introvert who barely ever left her room.
She had black silky hair and red eyes that looked exactly like her brother’s.
Hiding behind a wall, her gaze was fixed on the ground while she rubbed her toe on her foot.
Her eyes were burning with intensity.
"So that is my brother’s new friend," she uttered out loud. Rubbing her toes even harder on her foot.
Finally, after a while of silence, she let out a final word—
"I hate her."