Chapter 227
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Alec didn't have to wait long before the bell chimed again, but he didn't look up from the book that he was reading, which suited him just fine.
While this was a high-class bookstore that catered to the rich and powerful, the owner of this place had just as powerful a backing, so much so that no one dared to go against them.
Strangely, it was even off-limits to the ruling power of the Kaoriht continent, the Rhys Royal Family.
As such, the employees of this place only had one rule to follow.
As long as the customers were not making trouble, they were free to come and go. If they were on the banned list, then they were to be thrown out no matter who they were.
Not only that, no service was provided to the customers, and they were to do as they wanted.
It was a set of strange rules that this place followed, but Alec quite liked it.
It was the reason why Alec had chosen this place as a workplace, as he really didn't think he was going to be able to uphold his persona if rich brats left and right came and made trouble for him because the ladies they took a fancy to Alec.
Of course, he was sure that he would be able to complete his mission flawlessly and professionally, but there was no doubt that he would be boiling with so much anger inside that he wouldn't be surprised if he exploded, so finding this place was truly a blessing.
He was able to incorporate it into his plans without a hitch, making this the main base of his operations.
Alec could see that Princess Ophelia had entered the bookstore with a single guard by her side, but that wasn't any of his concern.
Even if she was the target, the way to capture her as a target was not to approach her first, as that would only invite suspicion upon himself in the future.
Also, according to the information that he'd been given, those that landed themselves with Ophelia were always the ones to approach her first, and if he wanted to be able to properly seduce her, he was not going to go the same route as the rest of those poor, unfortunate souls.
Right now, it appeared as if she wasn't going to make contact with him first, and was just observing him.
From what he saw of her expressions out of the corner of his eye when she stared at him blatantly, she was more curious than anything.
She acted uninterested in him, coolly looking away for a long period of time as she 'browsed' the bookstore.
Alec flipped a page.
He got up from his seat, and headed towards her, and he watched as Ophelia's face brightened.
However, instead of approaching her, he started stocking up the different books instead, completely ignoring her after giving her a faint smile.
Ophelia's expression fell when she realized that even though she was staring blatantly, he didn't even look at her at all besides that initial glance.
Ophelia felt like her pride had been damaged.
How could he ignore her fairy-like beauty like she was some common woman by the roadside?!
The other person was just an employee of a bookstore, but he was blatantly ignoring her. *Her*. Ophelia scowled, turning away.
She didn't even know why she was doing this.
In the first place, it wasn't like she was interested in this unknown young man, but when she kept hearing how the noblewomen kept gushing about him, she couldn't help but go and take a look.
What she saw disappointed her a little.
It turned out that the rumours were just that. Rumours. They'd likely been hyped, and the princess felt a little cheated.
When she kept hearing about the mysterious man, she imagined that he was handsome beyond belief, with disposition to match, so in the end when she'd been consumed by her curiosity, she headed to the Cookie Sect, but was ultimately disappointed in the end.
He wasn't anything like the rumours painted him out to be.
Ophelia pouted unhappily.
He wasn't handsome enough for her tastes, but the longer she watched him in that shop, the more she felt as if maybe the rumours hadn't been that far off in the end.
There was something about him that was strangely easy on the eye, despite his rather common facial features.
It was his aura that was rather special.
He seemed to give off a feeling of serenity that she'd never felt before, and it stirred feelings within her that she didn't know how to describe.
When he left the shop without doing anything other than finishing his dessert, she had her men follow him, because she was a princess, and princesses didn't blatantly follow men of her own accord.
She was then further disappointed when her men reported to her that he entered the Cosmic Bookstore without doing anything else, and instead seated himself behind the desk.
She thought that he'd do something special, but he was only going to work. So, he was a commoner, then. He wasn't some distant nobility that came to their continent.
Still, Ophelia's curiosity was burning bright, and she wanted to see what kind of man had all the unattached noblewomen in a tizzy, acting this way for someone that was most likely below their status.
She loitered around in the bookstore for a quarter of an hour, but he never once looked up from his book after finishing his work, which caused Ophelia to huff in annoyance.
There was no one that she hadn't been able to conquer as of yet, but this man didn't even give her a glance in the first place.
She was confident enough in her looks that she could snare whatever man she wanted without a problem, and with the addition of her status, she always had her way.
Whatever man caught her eye, all she had to do was make flirty eye as them, and sooner or later, they were all more than willing to throw themselves at her.
She loitered around a little more, but she didn't think that anything was going to change, so she was going to make a last-ditch attempt.
Ophelia pulled a random book from the shelf and was about to go and pay and force him to look at her for longer than a second, when she realized that the guard was still at her side.
She impatiently waved him off, ordering him to leave and wait outside for her in a quiet voice.
The bookshop was so quiet that she had to behave inconspicuously in case he heard her.
Unknown to Ophelia, all her words were directly heard by Alec, who had Awakened his hearing.
Ye Sha snorted seeing the pretentious way that the princess behaved as she tried in vain to capture Alec's attention.
This course of action wasn't anything new to him.
There were many Systems that tried the same thing back then, and Alec had never realized what they were doing.
Of course, this time, since Alec was in work mode, he was probably able to discern her actions.
Ophelia walked up to the counter, dropping the pink book before Alec, sticking her nose up haughtily.
She flipped her hair behind her, talking imperviously. "Hurry up!"
Alec finally looked up from the book that he was reading, giving the princess a glance.
Ophelia felt a thrill when those dark blue eyes landed on her, and she tilted her head so as to show off her best angle that made her appeared dignified and beautiful – something that she painstakingly practiced in the mirror.
Alec smiled gently, taking the pink book from the counter. "Yes, thank you for waiting, miss," he said, unfalteringly polite.
Ophelia preened, but felt disappointed when he didn't have any other reaction towards her. How strange!
"The book you are buying today is 'Young Maiden's Illicit Affairs With Her Darling', please confirm," Alec said, giving the princess a strange glance. He then put back the normal smile on.
How funny. To think that she just subconsciously picked up whatever book caught her eye without even checking the title.
He could only call her foolish.
From cover to the inside, that book was written in a completely raunchy way, and while it was secretly popular, none of the ladies dared to buy it on their own in fear of their reputation taking a hit.
Ophelia's face immediately burned red as she realized what the strange looks that Alec had been giving her was for.
She contained the scream that wanted to leave her as she was completely embarrassed. Ah, how could she not have checked what book it was that she picked?!
She resisted the urge to flee, instead picking up the book with what little dignity she had left as she hurriedly paid and left the shop.
The bell chimed a few times as she hurriedly left, and Ye Sha burst into laughter, howling and thumping his fist onto the ground.
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Alec didn't have to wait long before the bell chimed again, but he didn't look up from the book that he was reading, which suited him just fine.
While this was a high-class bookstore that catered to the rich and powerful, the owner of this place had just as powerful a backing, so much so that no one dared to go against them.
Strangely, it was even off-limits to the ruling power of the Kaoriht continent, the Rhys Royal Family.
As such, the employees of this place only had one rule to follow.
As long as the customers were not making trouble, they were free to come and go. If they were on the banned list, then they were to be thrown out no matter who they were.
Not only that, no service was provided to the customers, and they were to do as they wanted.
It was a set of strange rules that this place followed, but Alec quite liked it.
It was the reason why Alec had chosen this place as a workplace, as he really didn't think he was going to be able to uphold his persona if rich brats left and right came and made trouble for him because the ladies they took a fancy to Alec.
Of course, he was sure that he would be able to complete his mission flawlessly and professionally, but there was no doubt that he would be boiling with so much anger inside that he wouldn't be surprised if he exploded, so finding this place was truly a blessing.
He was able to incorporate it into his plans without a hitch, making this the main base of his operations.
Alec could see that Princess Ophelia had entered the bookstore with a single guard by her side, but that wasn't any of his concern.
Even if she was the target, the way to capture her as a target was not to approach her first, as that would only invite suspicion upon himself in the future.
Also, according to the information that he'd been given, those that landed themselves with Ophelia were always the ones to approach her first, and if he wanted to be able to properly seduce her, he was not going to go the same route as the rest of those poor, unfortunate souls.
Right now, it appeared as if she wasn't going to make contact with him first, and was just observing him.
From what he saw of her expressions out of the corner of his eye when she stared at him blatantly, she was more curious than anything.
She acted uninterested in him, coolly looking away for a long period of time as she 'browsed' the bookstore.
Alec flipped a page.
He got up from his seat, and headed towards her, and he watched as Ophelia's face brightened.
However, instead of approaching her, he started stocking up the different books instead, completely ignoring her after giving her a faint smile.
Ophelia's expression fell when she realized that even though she was staring blatantly, he didn't even look at her at all besides that initial glance.
Ophelia felt like her pride had been damaged.
How could he ignore her fairy-like beauty like she was some common woman by the roadside?!
The other person was just an employee of a bookstore, but he was blatantly ignoring her. *Her*. Ophelia scowled, turning away.
She didn't even know why she was doing this.
In the first place, it wasn't like she was interested in this unknown young man, but when she kept hearing how the noblewomen kept gushing about him, she couldn't help but go and take a look.
What she saw disappointed her a little.
It turned out that the rumours were just that. Rumours. They'd likely been hyped, and the princess felt a little cheated.
When she kept hearing about the mysterious man, she imagined that he was handsome beyond belief, with disposition to match, so in the end when she'd been consumed by her curiosity, she headed to the Cookie Sect, but was ultimately disappointed in the end.
He wasn't anything like the rumours painted him out to be.
Ophelia pouted unhappily.
He wasn't handsome enough for her tastes, but the longer she watched him in that shop, the more she felt as if maybe the rumours hadn't been that far off in the end.
There was something about him that was strangely easy on the eye, despite his rather common facial features.
It was his aura that was rather special.
He seemed to give off a feeling of serenity that she'd never felt before, and it stirred feelings within her that she didn't know how to describe.
When he left the shop without doing anything other than finishing his dessert, she had her men follow him, because she was a princess, and princesses didn't blatantly follow men of her own accord.
She was then further disappointed when her men reported to her that he entered the Cosmic Bookstore without doing anything else, and instead seated himself behind the desk.
She thought that he'd do something special, but he was only going to work. So, he was a commoner, then. He wasn't some distant nobility that came to their continent.
Still, Ophelia's curiosity was burning bright, and she wanted to see what kind of man had all the unattached noblewomen in a tizzy, acting this way for someone that was most likely below their status.
She loitered around in the bookstore for a quarter of an hour, but he never once looked up from his book after finishing his work, which caused Ophelia to huff in annoyance.
There was no one that she hadn't been able to conquer as of yet, but this man didn't even give her a glance in the first place.
She was confident enough in her looks that she could snare whatever man she wanted without a problem, and with the addition of her status, she always had her way.
Whatever man caught her eye, all she had to do was make flirty eye as them, and sooner or later, they were all more than willing to throw themselves at her.
She loitered around a little more, but she didn't think that anything was going to change, so she was going to make a last-ditch attempt.
Ophelia pulled a random book from the shelf and was about to go and pay and force him to look at her for longer than a second, when she realized that the guard was still at her side.
She impatiently waved him off, ordering him to leave and wait outside for her in a quiet voice.
The bookshop was so quiet that she had to behave inconspicuously in case he heard her.
Unknown to Ophelia, all her words were directly heard by Alec, who had Awakened his hearing.
Ye Sha snorted seeing the pretentious way that the princess behaved as she tried in vain to capture Alec's attention.
This course of action wasn't anything new to him.
There were many Systems that tried the same thing back then, and Alec had never realized what they were doing.
Of course, this time, since Alec was in work mode, he was probably able to discern her actions.
Ophelia walked up to the counter, dropping the pink book before Alec, sticking her nose up haughtily.
She flipped her hair behind her, talking imperviously. "Hurry up!"
Alec finally looked up from the book that he was reading, giving the princess a glance.
Ophelia felt a thrill when those dark blue eyes landed on her, and she tilted her head so as to show off her best angle that made her appeared dignified and beautiful – something that she painstakingly practiced in the mirror.
Alec smiled gently, taking the pink book from the counter. "Yes, thank you for waiting, miss," he said, unfalteringly polite.
Ophelia preened, but felt disappointed when he didn't have any other reaction towards her. How strange!
"The book you are buying today is 'Young Maiden's Illicit Affairs With Her Darling', please confirm," Alec said, giving the princess a strange glance. He then put back the normal smile on.
How funny. To think that she just subconsciously picked up whatever book caught her eye without even checking the title.
He could only call her foolish.
From cover to the inside, that book was written in a completely raunchy way, and while it was secretly popular, none of the ladies dared to buy it on their own in fear of their reputation taking a hit.
Ophelia's face immediately burned red as she realized what the strange looks that Alec had been giving her was for.
She contained the scream that wanted to leave her as she was completely embarrassed. Ah, how could she not have checked what book it was that she picked?!
She resisted the urge to flee, instead picking up the book with what little dignity she had left as she hurriedly paid and left the shop.
The bell chimed a few times as she hurriedly left, and Ye Sha burst into laughter, howling and thumping his fist onto the ground.
Alec didn't have to wait long before the bell chimed again, but he didn't look up from the book that he was reading, which suited him just fine.While this was a high-class bookstore that catered to the rich and powerful, the owner of this place had just as powerful a backing, so much so that no one dared to go against them.Strangely, it was even off-limits to the ruling power of the Kaoriht continent, the Rhys Royal Family.As such, the employees of this place only had one rule to follow.As long as the customers were not making trouble, they were free to come and go. If they were on the banned list, then they were to be thrown out no matter who they were.Not only that, no service was provided to the customers, and they were to do as they wanted.It was a set of strange rules that this place followed, but Alec quite liked it.It was the reason why Alec had chosen this place as a workplace, as he really didn't think he was going to be able to uphold his persona if rich brats left and right came and made trouble for him because the ladies they took a fancy to Alec.Of course, he was sure that he would be able to complete his mission flawlessly and professionally, but there was no doubt that he would be boiling with so much anger inside that he wouldn't be surprised if he exploded, so finding this place was truly a blessing.He was able to incorporate it into his plans without a hitch, making this the main base of his operations.Alec could see that Princess Ophelia had entered the bookstore with a single guard by her side, but that wasn't any of his concern.Even if she was the target, the way to capture her as a target was not to approach her first, as that would only invite suspicion upon himself in the future.Also, according to the information that he'd been given, those that landed themselves with Ophelia were always the ones to approach her first, and if he wanted to be able to properly seduce her, he was not going to go the same route as the rest of those poor, unfortunate souls.Right now, it appeared as if she wasn't going to make contact with him first, and was just observing him.From what he saw of her expressions out of the corner of his eye when she stared at him blatantly, she was more curious than anything.She acted uninterested in him, coolly looking away for a long period of time as she 'browsed' the bookstore.Alec flipped a page.He got up from his seat, and headed towards her, and he watched as Ophelia's face brightened.However, instead of approaching her, he started stocking up the different books instead, completely ignoring her after giving her a faint smile.Ophelia's expression fell when she realized that even though she was staring blatantly, he didn't even look at her at all besides that initial glance.Ophelia felt like her pride had been damaged.How could he ignore her fairy-like beauty like she was some common woman by the roadside?!The other person was just an employee of a bookstore, but he was blatantly ignoring her. *Her*. Ophelia scowled, turning away.She didn't even know why she was doing this.In the first place, it wasn't like she was interested in this unknown young man, but when she kept hearing how the noblewomen kept gushing about him, she couldn't help but go and take a look.What she saw disappointed her a little.It turned out that the rumours were just that. Rumours. They'd likely been hyped, and the princess felt a little cheated.When she kept hearing about the mysterious man, she imagined that he was handsome beyond belief, with disposition to match, so in the end when she'd been consumed by her curiosity, she headed to the Cookie Sect, but was ultimately disappointed in the end.He wasn't anything like the rumours painted him out to be.Ophelia pouted unhappily.He wasn't handsome enough for her tastes, but the longer she watched him in that shop, the more she felt as if maybe the rumours hadn't been that far off in the end.There was something about him that was strangely easy on the eye, despite his rather common facial features.It was his aura that was rather special.He seemed to give off a feeling of serenity that she'd never felt before, and it stirred feelings within her that she didn't know how to describe.When he left the shop without doing anything other than finishing his dessert, she had her men follow him, because she was a princess, and princesses didn't blatantly follow men of her own accord.She was then further disappointed when her men reported to her that he entered the Cosmic Bookstore without doing anything else, and instead seated himself behind the desk.She thought that he'd do something special, but he was only going to work. So, he was a commoner, then. He wasn't some distant nobility that came to their continent.Still, Ophelia's curiosity was burning bright, and she wanted to see what kind of man had all the unattached noblewomen in a tizzy, acting this way for someone that was most likely below their status.She loitered around in the bookstore for a quarter of an hour, but he never once looked up from his book after finishing his work, which caused Ophelia to huff in annoyance.There was no one that she hadn't been able to conquer as of yet, but this man didn't even give her a glance in the first place.She was confident enough in her looks that she could snare whatever man she wanted without a problem, and with the addition of her status, she always had her way.Whatever man caught her eye, all she had to do was make flirty eye as them, and sooner or later, they were all more than willing to throw themselves at her.She loitered around a little more, but she didn't think that anything was going to change, so she was going to make a last-ditch attempt.Ophelia pulled a random book from the shelf and was about to go and pay and force him to look at her for longer than a second, when she realized that the guard was still at her side.She impatiently waved him off, ordering him to leave and wait outside for her in a quiet voice.The bookshop was so quiet that she had to behave inconspicuously in case he heard her.Unknown to Ophelia, all her words were directly heard by Alec, who had Awakened his hearing.Ye Sha snorted seeing the pretentious way that the princess behaved as she tried in vain to capture Alec's attention.This course of action wasn't anything new to him.There were many Systems that tried the same thing back then, and Alec had never realized what they were doing.Of course, this time, since Alec was in work mode, he was probably able to discern her actions.Ophelia walked up to the counter, dropping the pink book before Alec, sticking her nose up haughtily.She flipped her hair behind her, talking imperviously. "Hurry up!"Alec finally looked up from the book that he was reading, giving the princess a glance.Ophelia felt a thrill when those dark blue eyes landed on her, and she tilted her head so as to show off her best angle that made her appeared dignified and beautiful something that she painstakingly practiced in the mirror.Alec smiled gently, taking the pink book from the counter. "Yes, thank you for waiting, miss," he said, unfalteringly polite.Ophelia preened, but felt disappointed when he didn't have any other reaction towards her. How strange!"The book you are buying today is 'Young Maiden's Illicit Affairs With Her Darling', please confirm," Alec said, giving the princess a strange glance. He then put back the normal smile on.How funny. To think that she just subconsciously picked up whatever book caught her eye without even checking the title.He could only call her foolish.From cover to the inside, that book was written in a completely raunchy way, and while it was secretly popular, none of the ladies dared to buy it on their own in fear of their reputation taking a hit.Ophelia's face immediately burned red as she realized what the strange looks that Alec had been giving her was for.She contained the scream that wanted to leave her as she was completely embarrassed. Ah, how could she not have checked what book it was that she picked?!She resisted the urge to flee, instead picking up the book with what little dignity she had left as she hurriedly paid and left the shop.The bell chimed a few times as she hurriedly left, and Ye Sha burst into laughter, howling and thumping his fist onto the ground.
